Have you ever woke up out of your sleep to a delightful smell flowing through the house? You hop out of bed and you follow the smell to the kitchen and to your delight, someone is preparing a meal. Because it smells so good, you are enticed and you want to indulge at that moment. But there is a process to completing the meal. Maybe you got really eager and decided to take a bite out of something and it was not quite complete. You spit it out because it didn’t taste right, and you then back off to allow the process to be fulfilled. And to your satisfaction, the end result is very rewarding.
This concept applies to our everyday life. Sometimes we get in such a hurry to get our hands on something, but if not allotted the proper time, we will not be able to enjoy it in its richness and fullness. There is an old saying that goes, “It’s not just about the destination, it’s about the journey.” This is something that my mom whispers to me everyday and I really am grasping what she says. I had been living my life so focused on my end goals, that I was not truly embracing my journey to achieving them.
Let’s relate our journeys to that of planting in a field. Of course the end goal is to reap a plentiful harvest, but in order to reap, there are other things to do in preparation. There are many “waiting” stages within the process of harvesting. There is a time to plow the field in order to loosen the soil for the next step, a time to sow your seeds, and a time to reap the benefits of what you sowed. But it’s important to understand that in each stage of the process, there were some things that have to occur to prepare for the next step. Just as in our lives, during our season of “waiting”, this is the time where we are getting prepared for a harvest. It has a way of smoothing out the jagged edges of our lives and help build our character. God is in the business of cultivating a harvest in our lives, but this takes time and cooperation in doing the right things at the right time to progress towards a goal.
Because of our periods of “waiting”, we tend to value and take care of what we have. I believe that God is just as interested in the journey as he is the destination. I believe that is why we have vivid biblical accounts that provide us the good, the bad and the ugly. We may not always comprehend why we have to wait, but the good news is that God never makes us wait without Him by our side.
1 Comment
amen! amen!