“Patience until the End!”
This past weekend, I had
a chance to visit the farm I grew up on from birth until I left for
college. It reminded me to practice
being more patient. Here is why:
I helped on the farm
throughout my childhood. I had to do
lots of chores, but I also got to do a lot of fun things living on 60
acres! One of the things I remember
doing with my dad each spring was planting the crops on our land. Our land consisted of four different small
farms within a mile of each other. So
four times each spring, we would plant a field.
Before leaving the field, my dad and I would get off the tractor, kneel
on the soil, pick up a handful of soil in each hand, and then he would pray to
God asking for the harvest to be a good one.
I can’t really remember the prayer except that some of it was in English
and some of it was in German. Then we
would go plant the next field.
Our next move was to
basically wait for the harvest time to come.
Yes, we would cultivate every once in a while if weeds appeared, but
basically, we had to wait. There was no
hurrying the plant along. That was out
of our control. The important lesson I
remember learning growing up on a farm was that God was in more control than I
was.
As a parent, sometimes I
want to be in control of too much in the lives of my children. Sometimes I am not a patient with the growing
process they are all three undertaking along with our family each day. I get too narrowly focused as parent, but
really, the “harvest” of their life doesn’t come until later - in who they become
as a Christian, spouse, employee, parent, etc. as adults. Being on the farm reminded me to be patient
in the growing process of my children, not only for today, but also patient all
the way until they go to heaven.
“See
how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he
is for the autumn and spring rains. You
too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” James 5:7
Family Discussion
Points!
Parents, ask your
kids: Do you wish you grew up on a farm?
Why or why not?
Parents, tell your kids
if you wish you did? If you did, tell
your kids what you liked and didn’t like.
If you didn’t, tell your kids, what you would have liked about it.
Why is being patient so
hard many times???
