My wife loves to work wonders in her small garden on the terrace of our city condo. When I say garden, it’s not vegetables and fruit, but small plants and trees and an occasional flower. There’s something relaxing and rewarding about planting a seed or sapling in soil and nurturing it along the way. At first, there appears to be nothing but soil and water and fertilizer and the seed itself. Over time, after much patience, with the right combination of sunlight and TLC, the results of her efforts begin to pay off and growth begins to take shape.
I remember one particular small tree that had not been doing well at all in its current container. She had tried everything and decided that relocating the plant would be the plant’s best hope for survival. After much effort and much patience in waiting for the tree to regenerate and grow, the plant eventually died. As it turned out, the trauma of moving the plant to new soil and a new container ending up being more harmful than if we had left the plant where it was. It would have been better to be more patient and allow the plant to blossom in its original container.
How much is real life like that? Are you at one of those seasons in your life when things just don’t seem to be working out? Maybe you’ve tried and tried to work things out and you’re ready to give it all up. Maybe you’re ready to change directions entirely. Occasionally, God does tell us to change directions and take a different course; however, sometimes, God wants us to stay planted and simply have more faith that our current plans will generate fruit. Be careful that you don’t dig up what God has planted and that you allow ample time for God to develop His plans for your life. Remember, that our timetable is not always the same as God’s timetable for our lives.