Patience is such a challenge for most of us.
We don’t like waiting for much of anything. There is that piece of demandingness that lingers in us long after we are toddlers. We usually want ___ NOW! The challenge of putting something on hold seems to be a lifelong learning laboratory for us.
One of the things I admired about my dad was how patient he was about nearly everything in life. As I consider what he did for much of his life, I see how that occupation helped shape that in him. A significant part of his life centered on running his family farm. Even as he was older and working at other jobs and a major part of the farm was sold, he continued to plant a large garden. Fruit trees of all kinds, and berry bushes of several varieties were planted and tended on the ten acres he kept of the original farm.
Farming is often an unsung and under-appreciated occupation that young people today don’t think much about and don’t usually choose as an occupation. Yet it is vital to our survival and the economy of any country.
Farming may not appeal because it is very hard work with long hours and uncertain results. Farmers are held hostage to the weather despite their best efforts. The careful preparation of the soil and its nutrition, the quality of the things planted, the tending of the young plants and trees, the elimination of weeds and pests that attack, and more, must come before a harvest results.
As a child growing up and watching all this, I didn’t really appreciate the significance of all that. I very much enjoyed the results, however.
Nothing can compare with the fragrance of my dad’s smokehouse filled with slabs of bacon and ham, the taste of fresh veggies picked earlier that day from our garden, or a warm cherry pie made with cherries picked from our own trees.
Even so, the lessons I observed from those years and the fruit in my dad’s life have provided me with a treasure trove to glean from.
Farmers must learn to hang on to hope in the spring when the fields and gardens are being tilled and prepared for the seed. They must hang on while they wait to see what comes from the soil. They must wait and hang on when there is too much rain or not enough rain, when there is too much heat or it comes at the wrong time or when an early or late frost destroys that hope.
Farmers also must learn to let go of the many things over which they have no control and how that might destroy their income until another year.
Unless farming has been in your background, these are things most people never consider or appreciate.
As I recently read It’s All Under Control, the author, Jennifer Dukes Lee, listed some powerful reasons to hang on. If you haven’t read her book, you might want to pick it up (and maybe the Bible study as well). Here is a portion of that great list:
“Hang on. Yes, it’s hard, but it might not be time to let go.
Hang on. You might be the miracle someone was praying for.
Hang on. This might be only a season, with relief around the corner.
Hang on. A great crowd of witnesses is cheering you on.
Hang on. When you hang on with bravery, you emotionally strengthen others who are struggling to hang on themselves. You’re showing them that it’s possible to do hard things.
Hang on. If you are uniquely positioned to do something to make the world a better place, even if it’s hard, you should do it.
Hang on. For your marriage. For your kids. For your church. For the people that your ministry bravely serves. For the hurting. For your friends who don’t know if they can hang on anymore.
Hang on. Because Jesus will meet you in the middle of your hardest battles.”
When you consider the wealth of illustrations that can be made regarding farming, it isn’t surprising that so many appear in scripture. It’s clear that the Lord doesn’t want us to give up.
And so we wait.
We hang on.
And we let God be God.
We look to the proper time, the harvest, and his return for us from the earth He placed us on and asked us to steward.
We look to Paul’s words in Galatians 6:9 (NIV):
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
We’ve had an early snow here which, as you can appreciate, is not tough time for the farmers. I’d say farming builds character! And God wants us to build character by hanging on. That rope sure can feel slippery and it’s darn tiring trying to hold on and uncertainty can deplete our strength…and then that voice, ‘hang on, it’s going to be okay…”
I agree….farming DOES build character!! Your words are spot on, Lynn! Thanks for sharing these! Early snow? We have had a long summer of heat into the current week, but temps are to cool from the mid-80’s to the mid 50’s by this weekend in Ohio.🍁
Lovely post, and encouraging words. Patience is not one of my best features, but I’m trying to work on it.
Thank you for joining The Really Crafty Link Party, and enjoy the rest of your week.
Farming is a wonderful calling and gives so much to the world at large.
Wonderful thoughts on living close to the earth–and wonderful review of Jennifer’s book.
For me, gardening is a continual reminder that God is ultimately in control of all things.
Thanks, Michele! I wish that I had inherited my dad’s love and gift of gardening, but sadly that didn’t cross over. He surely spoiled me and my mother’s kitchen skills complimented all that perfectly😊
Happy Monday to you, friend! I’ve always thought I was last in line when they handed out patience. Always looking for excuses, ya’ know? But I also know that the fruit of the spirit is ours as believers and the fruit comes in bunches and grows and flourishes as they are nourished.
And used to minister God’s grace to others, too.
Thanks for speaking into my life again. And oh, this here –.’Nothing can compare with the fragrance of my dad’s smokehouse filled with slabs of bacon and ham, the taste of fresh veggies picked earlier that day from our garden, or a warm cherry pie made with cherries picked from our own trees.’
I didn’t realize how hungry I was …
;-}
Hi, sweet friend! I have reached the conclusion that patience is a fruit that must be cultivated. My dear farming dad gave me many examples of what that looks like when I watched him turning over the soil and reworking it again and again so it would produce the very best crops. The soil didn’t ask to be disturbed, but needed to be to produce the fruit. So it is with each of us, I think.
Ah, yes, that picture I painted can do that. Imagine how hard it is for me to recall it so well that I can almost taste it, but not quite!
Hugs,
😘
Hi, I’m visiting from #MMBH. So happy to be here and get encouragement from your words about patience!
Thanks, Katy!! So glad you stopped by😊