Now on the other end of the career spectrum is the job of the farmer. The farmer goes out to the field, prepares the ground, disperses the seeds in the prepared rows, covers the seeds, waters the soil, and then the hard work begins. Week upon week, sometimes month upon month, and in the case of plants such as fruit trees we might even be talking about year upon year the farmer must nurture the plant until it reaches maturity and produces the fruit that it was intended to provide. Without the efforts of the farmer and his or her commitment to the process of nurturing the seed until it becomes what it was intended to be, the outcome of the fruit may never come to "fruition". (Pun intended) The sower of the seeds has to have a different type of mindset, for the farmer it can't be about planting the seed and then instantly hearing the crowd roar with laughter as the comedian requires. Instead the farmer understands that if the seed isn't planted the crop won't grow, and if the crop doesn't grow it is a direct reflection on the farmer who didn't carry out his or her purpose in life. A farmer understands that planting seeds is only a part of the process, a sower of seeds grasps the belief that farming much like life is all about delayed gratification.
In your life to which mindset do you adhere? Do you expect to see instant results for the "behind the scenes" work you do? When that doesn't happen are you dejected or even worse do you ask yourself "Why do I even bother to try to help?" In education understanding the concept of delayed gratification is critically important. (By the way, I am blessed to be in the profession of teaching, but in reality each of us are teachers. You teach your sons and daughters right and wrong as they grow, you teach your co-workers how to handle conflict or pressure each day on the job, and you teach family and friends what it means to never give up through your dedicated commitment to see life through. Just so you never forget it, YOU are a teacher. I just wanted to make sure that was clear. Now back to our message.)
Whatever we do as teachers it is so important to understand the concept of delayed gratification. So many times, and I am guilty of this as much as the next classroom teacher, thoughts of "what's the use?" creep into our minds. We work so hard to teach our students the skills they will need to be successful in life both academically and also socially, but it seems like at times we are talking to the proverbial brick wall. Students, family members, and even our co-workers make mistakes or go down paths that we definitely taught them not to travel, yet there they go down that slippery slope and we think "Well I guess I wasted my time there, what's the use?" We watch as the lessons we taught and the skills we shared are tossed to the side and life goes sideways for those we have invested our time and commitment. You may actually feel like a failure at that moment, but I want to tell you that your work has just begun.
Just as the farmer plants the seeds and then begins the process of pulling the weeds that want to choke out or steal the nourishment of the plant, watering and fertilizing the soil so that when the plant needs support and can't get it on it's own the plant has what it needs, or in the case of a tree the farmer waits, and waits and is required to maintain faith that the small seed that was planted in the ground years ago will eventually grow into a tree. A tree that bears much fruit or provides shade and comfort for those that find themselves under it's branches. We are tasked to do the exact same thing in life. We provide the knowledge and skills, we invest in the nurturing of those skills, and then at the end of the day we must have faith and place our trust in the knowledge that we have done exactly what we have been called to do. From there we pray and hold on to our faith that God has a plan for each of our lives and His plan will be fulfilled.
I would like to end our Flat Tire Ministries Thought today with a story that a dear friend of mine, Ricky Witt, told me not too long ago. A young preacher, eager to go out and save the world felt led by the Lord to hold a revival. He could feel the direction from above so much that he kept hearing the number "100" over and over to the conclusion that the results of this revival would be 100 people saved. The enthusiastic preacher went about the business of conducting his revival, put his complete effort into the preparation of messages and when the actual event took place he left nothing on the table bearing his heart and soul to the the attendees. The crowd was there, yet at the end of the event one lone soul came forward to be saved. Joy for the one soul, yet heartbroken for the 99 others that did not help him reach what he had been certain was a message from above. Undaunted and committed, the young minister went on to become a successful preacher and ultimately later in life his travels brought him back through the little town where it all began several years ago. Driving down the familiar streets of his past he happened upon a lake baptism with a considerable crowd gathered around. Intrigued, the elder pastor decided to stop by and join in with the fellowship. As he approached the lake, a young pastor emerged from the lake and hurriedly made his way up to the new guest. When the two met the young preacher reached out his hand and proclaimed to his new visitor, " I bet you don't remember me?" The passerby looked into his eyes and saw a glean that was both telling and memorable. "Well, I'll just tell you, several years ago you held a revival here and I got saved that day. After high school, I made the decision to go to seminary and become a preacher myself. When I finished I came back here and started my own church. Today, we are baptizing our 99th new member to our church!"
As I retell this story to you, tears well up in my eyes. Delayed gratification, plant a seed today and don't ever stop believing!
"So let us not grow weary of doing what is good; for if we don't give up, we will in due time reap the harvest." Galatians 6:9
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