Lessons From My GardenChikamu

Harvest 

Harvest time. The very best time! Harvest is the gathering of rewards from all the weeks and sometimes months of weeding, watering, and waiting. Mostly waiting.

Growth takes time. 

We all want to see evidence of our efforts—in child raising, in marriage relationships, in business. Many times we are so busy in the hustle of life we can’t imagine any fruitfulness ahead. The progress seems so slow and we are lost in the waiting. But in life, just as in gardening, the harvest comes much later than the planting. 

In my garden I wait for the seeds to sprout. I wait for the roots to develop. For many weeks or months, all I see is a green plant. In this season my garden is immature and often looks disappointing and hopeless. Yet, in closer observation I can find the evidence of coming fruit. I may have to get down on my knees to see them, but the tiny buds of flowers which will become cucumbers, peppers, or green beans, are there. 

So it is with your teen, or your marriage, or your team at work, or your slowly growing business. God is always working for good, even when you don’t yet see any evidence or mature fruit. Awaiting a harvest takes great patience and endurance. It takes extended time on your knees. It takes keeping hope alive and faith to believe God is working in the waiting. The seed you planted and nurtured will bear good fruit, the timeline just may not match your own expectations. 

In the meantime and the mundane, in all your tears, fears, and efforts, look closely and ask Him for glimpses to show you He is near. He is with you in your persistence, in your determination, in your faithfulness, and even in your failures. Somehow, some way, He is working everything for good, even when it doesn’t seem possible. 

Is your hope fading? In gardening and in life the elements can be harsh. Even when the heavy rains come and wash stones and sticks and junk into your garden, into your life, don’t give up! Maybe you just need some fresh tilling and reseeding. 

A fruitful season is coming for you and the harvest will be worth your efforts. Believe it!