This is What Seed-Time and Harvest Looks Like

These lovely ladies sat beside me at a wonderful luncheon fundraiser for women’s ministry outreaches yesterday. As we visited, Ann, on the left, told me she and her husband were part of the first twelve people who started meeting to worship God together twenty-two years ago in just a small building in downtown Frisco. They had the hearts for a Catholic Church to be built in Frisco, TX – since the closest ones were in McKinney, Plano or Denton – all at least 30 miles away. Various priests would join them to celebrate the mass for them.

After many long years of planning and two years of construction, the existing church and chapel were completed in December. 2013. The hall we met in yesterday was the first structure built. I saw Ann gazing, almost overwhelmed, at how many women were at the luncheon. The church has over 39,000 members now. From 12 to 39,000 in 22 years. Talk about "seedtime and harvest"! Twenty-two years of planting, praying, serving and giving certainly produced a bumper crop. I said to Ann and Donna, her daughter, “Just look at what you did. You planted many seeds and today you are witnessing the harvest. I was reminded of the scripture: “Be not weary in doing good for in due season you will reap if you don't give up!” Galatians 6:9

I share this sweet exchange of a "sower" who recognizes the harvest she was a part of – the many who have given their lives to Christ, those who have been baptized, married, and raising their own children – planting into them the rewards of sowing and reaping. We plant. God gives the increase. If we don’t dig up our seeds by words we speak or actions we take and if we trust God for the increase, eventually what we planted will yield a fruitful harvest. Waiting is the toughest part of the sowing process, isn’t it? We sow our seed…then…silence. If we sow our seed in faith, we expect it to grow, and we’ll keep expecting— no matter how long it takes. In the meantime, it is important that our words match our faith. We might as well say: “I am expecting a record-breaking harvest.” That's what Ann has seen.

Maybe you’re waiting for a financial harvest, a breakthrough in a relationship, or healing and restoration in your body or emotions or your church or business to grow. Whatever it is, if your harvest is taking longer than you’ve anticipated, God’s Word and His promises are true. So, hold on! God remembers every seed you’ve ever sown. So, don’t give up on your seed just before the finish line. Harvest is coming!

I encourage you to consider the seeds you plant each day into those you influence -- your children and maybe you don’t have children, but you have friends, loved ones, and neighbors that you could be planting seeds of faith, hope, confidence, and encouragement into them. Not only does your influence represent seed time into their lives -- but just maybe, you’ll get to be there when their harvest comes in AND when you watch them plant seeds into others, too. Yesterday, I was able to celebrate “harvest” with dear Ann. She’s a very proud and happy sower AND reaper!