01 Mar The Beauty of Slow Growth

Only a few days ago, my neighbor began to prepare the soil of his garden for spring. “Wow, is it time for that already?!” I thought, considering the snow that loomed on the horizon. And yet, before we know it, the first buds and blooms of spring will begin to sprout and grow.

Our family has been gardening for almost a decade. Some years the garden has been given more attention than others based on the time we have available to tend it. Every year, though, we keep planting, keep watering, and (to our great delight) keep seeing vegetables and herbs grow for our glad consumption.

When my older daughters were very small, my husband and I began to have them help us in the garden. Their little hands made small holes in the rich soil and placed a few seeds in each one, mounding them over with fresh dirt.

They took their little watering cans out each day to water their seeds.   The first questions came the first day. “Momma, when will the cucumbers be here? When will I get to eat the strawberries?”

“Time and tender care, honey. Keep watering them a little each day.“

And then the day would come when the first little sprouts pushed their way up through the earth. They were so excited! “Look, Momma! They are growing!” “But when will they look like cucumbers?”

“Time and tender care, sweetie. Keep watering them a little each day.“

Only God Can Make Things Grow

Spiritual growth is a lot like gardening. We plant seeds in our own hearts and the hearts of others, but growth isn’t up to us – it’s up to God. Ours is the work of planting, watering and praying. His is the work of growing:

“So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” – 1 Corinthians 3:7

While some seeds grow into plants and bear fruit sooner than others,  all of them take time. There may be seasons as women and mothers when we feel we are planting and watering and seeing nothing.

This is not the time to give up. God promises to make everything beautiful in His perfect timing.

Have you been sowing, watering, praying, planting into the tender hearts of your children? Into your own heart? Have you grown discouraged at the slowness of the growing process?

God has a word for you, faithful sower:

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9

The longer I live, the more clearly I understand that some of the best things in life may take the longest to come to fruition but are well worth the wait.

What does “due season” look like? It looks like this: Just the right time, not a a year or a day or a moment late. It means God’s perfect time, which is often not my own time, but always best.

Dear friends, where are you tempted to throw in the towel? To lay down in resignation or defeat?

Don’t.

Don’t abandon your field. Look up to the Son. To the God who gives growth. And trust His timing. A season of harvest, a season of reaping is yet ahead of you. In fact, it may be right around the corner.