Growth Takes Time

What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others-ignoring God, harvests a crop of weeds. But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8

Lessons from My Garden - Part 1

This spring I was tired of spending so much money planting flowers three times a year. I have two large beds in the backyard and about 7 pots on the front and back patio. While I absolutely love the beauty in seeing my yard filled with flowers of many kinds and colors, they simply don't last! I got this great idea to grow things from seed. I know I've lived in the city far too long. My Indiana, Ohio and Michigan friends are just laughing to themselves. Only my family knows that I don't have an indoor green thumb. Many flowering plants have been sent our way through the years and only one has survived, Great Grandma's cactus that was 70 years old at the time she gave it to me. I was 12. It has never flowered but I have somehow managed to keep it alive after 23 years of being happily married.

My outdoor flowers have had the same kind of fate. So back from the bunny trail, I bought three packages of seeds. I didn't think it would take over 6 weeks to become plants just breaking through soil and many more weeks after that to flower. Yes, I guess you could say I am a little impatient.

I think our spiritual growth is the same. Someone planted seeds in our life to bring us to Jesus. Some of us take longer than others to accept Christ. For some of my friends, I have prayed for their salvation for more than 15 years. You continue to perservere even without acceptance. At some point, someone comes along and leads that person to Jesus. Some people remain in an infant stage in their relationship with Christ for a long time because there is no one to teach them how to grow. For others, life circumstances become hard and they ask a lot of questions.

We all grow in our spiritual journey at different paces. Sometimes we grow impatient with our own progress as well as the progress with those around us. The best part is that God is so patient. He gently and quietly pursues us because He desires to have a relationship with us. Whether it takes us two months, two years, 20 years He still loves us and is waiting. It doesn't matter what our growth rate is or that it can't be measured, what counts is that we continue to seek Christ! When we earnest seek Him, he promises that we will find Him. Growth will automatically take place!