In the last post looking at Life from the Garden, we examined the power of persistence. This post is going to examine the power of patience.
There was a time when I didn’t really enjoy working in the garden. Maybe it was because I didn’t grow up with a garden and hadn’t gained an appreciation for it, or maybe it was simply that I was usually ready to move on to the next thing when I was working outside. Gardening took time–plants need to be carefully dug into the ground, they need sufficient water, weeds need to be pulled, and seeds need time to germinate and sprout; and all that time–in my mind–was often better served accomplishing something that I could tangibly see to completion–quickly. As an aside, that’s probably why I don’t mind–and even enjoy–vacuuming carpet and mowing the grass. Looking back, however, there was much I needed to appreciate about gardening that my impatience was keeping me from experiencing.
Can you relate to this in areas of your life? Impatience led to haste, which led to lack of care or attention, and even possibly mistakes. Now, I’m the first to say that God redeems mistakes, but if you could have avoided them simply by enduring more or employing more patience, would you? I would.
The garden reveals much about our character. Left alone, the earth will cover itself with grass or brush. And so, to simply scatter seeds–or throw a small plant–on unprepared soil will usually render the initial investment useless. However, with a patient hand, the garden can produce bounty–the likes of which can be compared to the greatest cuisine you could order at a 5-star restaurant. Not to mention the nutritional benefit and pure satisfaction of fruit or vegetables grown with the help of your hands, mind, and care. But to enjoy the fruit of one’s labor, one must employ patience–one must wait, tend, and protect the plant(s) as they grow.
And so it is with the power of patience. With the right amount of care and steady cultivation, you could reap home-grown goodness all year long.
How Does This Apply To Us Today?
“The end of a matter is better than its beginning; patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.”
Ecclesiastes 7:8
This verse captures the heart of the application. Just like the garden starts small and seemingly insignificant, so too do many things in our lives. However, that little seed will soon sprout and grow, and then produce fruit and/or vegetables in due time. The table will then be full of home-grown goodness, and you will say with those who are enjoying the meal, “…the end (the harvest) was certainly better than its beginning (the sowing).”
Now, apply this concept to various stages of our lives:
- Take dating…most people are not called to celibacy, and as a result will be married at some point. Now, how many times has impatience reared its head in the race to the altar to exchange vows only to find that it was more than likely too quick and not advisable? Too many times to count. Having said that, I’ll be the first to say that the person you’re married to is God’s best for you (outside of extreme circumstances), but that doesn’t mean we all should make haste to marry without due consideration to many factors. At the least, slowing down would allow for infatuation to run its course and the true-blue character to begin to shine through for each person to see and discern if the next step toward marriage is wise and prudent.
- Take marriage…when my wife and I said, “I do”, we thought we knew love. We knew the incipient stages of love, but now nearly 13 years into marriage we know love now more than our wedding day. It has taken time, it has taken sacrifice, it has taken struggle, joy, happiness, and heartache, but all these we have shared together, we have cultivated love, and as a result are experiencing love in a deeper way. I can only imagine another 10, 20, 30, or 40 more years with her at my side.
- Take parenting…are there times when your little kid(s) eek the last bit of patience from you? You wonder if your cool calm consistency is ever going to pay off. It will, but it’s going to take time.
- Take a job or career…most people want to advance at a rate that equals the speed of light; however, most situations don’t work out that way. Time proves character, and often that time is too much to bear, and we find ourselves moving from one job to the next leap-frogging to advance ourselves or our careers. Hang in there–be excellent where you are. If your situation is moderately sound and you can endure patiently and faithfully, you might find yourself one day the expert by the mere fact of attrition–others leaving around you.
And so, the power of patience is a beautiful tool in the hand of a Christian. It demonstrates faith, hope, and rest in a God who sees and a God who rewards.
Press on…patiently.
— July 13, 2018