It was my first 'fall' as a mother of four. I was definitely still adjusting. There were days I really wondered if we were going to make it! I stayed so busy taking care of my children, that there was very little - if any - time for anything else. I never thought showers could become a matter of prayer and fasting! Seriously, I felt like I was drowning. I was working as hard as I could to stay afloat - hoping my children were not sinking right along with me. And every day seemed to be a repeat of the day before....for months at a time! So often I wondered if we were even getting anywhere! It truly felt like I was just spinning my wheels - squealin' those babies!!! - but not budging a fraction of an inch! I felt like it was all in vain, and that's a dangerous feeling for me.
In the midst of this, God reminded me of Galatians 6:9:
"Let us not become wary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up."
Oh! There's a harvest!? Oh, how I'd lost sight of that fact! I had completely forgotten WHY I was doing WHAT I was doing! I was doing this to serve my God Who'd not given up on me. And He was now giving me an opportunity to plant seeds in the lives of four precious little people! God knew I was weary - He acknowledged that it wasn't easy. But He encouraged me with the reminder of how important my job really was! It most certainly was NOT in vain! A harvest was at stake! I went back to read more of Galatians 6 - and I was so thrilled to find the Harvest Principle (or the Law of the Harvest)! I bet you're familiar with it already, but here's how I understand it:
You reap WHAT you sow.
You reap WHERE you sow.
You reap MORE THAN you sow.
You reap in a DIFFERENT SEASON.
We all readily see how this is true with physical seeds sown into the ground. If we sow a pumpkin seed, we will reap a pumpkin plant...right where we planted the seed. But the ONE pumpkin plant that results from the ONE seed will produce MANY pumpkins, each containing a multitude of seeds! We need only wait for the right season. I have often heard this passage used to remind us to be careful what kind of seeds we sow...and rightfully so. But I RARELY hear it used to encourage those who are diligently sowing seeds of truth! God encouraged me that day, that:
If I sow seeds in my children's lives, it's in their lives that I can expect a harvest.
If I sow seeds of righteousness in them, it's a harvest of righteousness I can expect.
If I sow as many seeds as I can, He'll divinely multiply my efforts!
If I sow the seeds NOW, a harvest will come....later...in a different season.
As encouraging as that was, I knew there was much hard work yet to be done. I knew I couldn't give up - the harvest had not yet come. That's where the scarecrow and the pumpkins on my hearth enter the picture. God showed me that if I wanted to see that harvest in my children's lives, I MUST LIVE A CRUCIFIED LIFE!!!! He reminded me of Jesus' words in John 12:24-25:
"...unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains only a single seed.
But if it dies, it produces many seeds."
I still get weary sometimes. It's still not easy - but God has changed the way I see my job as a mother. It's so eternal. It's so full of purpose. Okay, I'm crying now - so I'll conclude with one of my favorite verses:
"Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him."
Psalm 126:5-6
I believe this Truth. I cling to this Truth with all of my heart. And these truths are what I'm reminded of every year when I pull out my fall decorations. You know, fall is just about over here in Alabama. But it just doesn't seem right to put my decorations back in the box yet - because for me, this season is not over yet. There's a harvest coming...
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