Seeds are a promise of progress

I was scrolling through Pinterest (don’t you just love Pinterest?) and I came across this saying that goes something like this, “Fruit does not grow from a tree that was planted on that same day.” (If anyone knows where this quote comes from, please let me know! I love to give credit where credit is due.).

In pondering over this quote, I started thinking about the meaning. Physically, we know that a seed holds the promise to become some sort of plant. We know that it takes time to really see the progress or growth of the plant. There are things going on underground before we even begin to see what happens as it comes out of the soil. Then, if you wait for the the fruit to grow, it seems to take that much longer! However, I think that this quote has much more meaning in a psychological way. Think about this, when we begin a new endeavor, we may not see all the things that are going on behind the scenes with it. Maybe, you’ve been pondering about starting a new job or you had some big change in your life and, now, you are having to make some big decisions. This change (or seed) is a promise of progress for you even when you can’t see it now. (Related post: Traversing the hills and valleys of life with grace )

This quote also got me thinking about my own feelings about my blog.

I am wanting my blog to attract people, and I have been getting frustrated recently because it is taking a while for it to happen. Then I read that quote and it made me realize that what I have are the seeds that God has given me that He wanted me to plant. These seeds take time to grow in order to become fruitful to the many people that I want to reach, so, therefore, I need to be patient. I am reminded that it is the promise of progress that makes me hopeful that the seeds will grow within people so that they are touched in some way by the words that I write. I must be consistently reminded that God has a purpose for this blog and I also have to realize that He is never wrong and He is always on time.

Also, realize that I am specifying that it is not my time, but His time!

Isn’t that the most difficult thing for us humans? We seem to hate the waiting that we are required to do. We are so determined to have something happen right now! When we don’t wait for the promise that He gives, then we tend to rush through life and we may miss the lessons that God is trying to teach us that will bring us more joy in life!

What did I learn from this? His time is not my time and I have a long way to go when it comes to my growth as His disciple. Luckily, we have a God who is extremely patient and is willing to wait on me to “catch up”! I have to be open to all of the ways that He guides me and sends His help to me so that I can get to the next step that He has planned for me. There are so many things going on “underground” that I am not aware of, but He always knows what will happen! I just have to trust enough to give it over to Him, willingly.

So, what can you gain from this? I know that the hardest thing for us humans to do is to let go of our control so that we can let God take the reins. Yes, He gave us free will, but I have found that what He really wants for us to say to Him is, “Not my will, but Yours be done” just like Jesus did on the cross. Finding joy is about trusting the path that God wants us to go. The first step is always the hardest, but the rewards are perfectly in-line with His purpose for your life!