It’s gardening time on our homestead, and it’s fun to see all the new growth. We tripled the size of our garden, and it was incredibly time consuming. Since we have rock hard, red clay, I spent days tilling, and amending the soil by adding in moist, rich, compost and worm laden dirt.
I began with such excitement. I thought of all the provisions our garden would provide, and I attacked my end goal with determination.
It was really hard work, and by the end of the process, I was just exhausted. I didn’t want to finish the job, yet my deadline of planting everything before we left for our beach trip was looming.
So what did I do? I took shortcuts.
It felt good. Shortcuts were so much easier, less time consuming, and I got everything planted on time.
Until I saw the end result, and it was a glimpse at my own life.
Whether it’s financial goals or simply parenting, life can get exhausting. When I am exhausted, I just want to take the easy way out.
Why? Because I am weary, and at times, feel too inadequate for such a big garden, so it’s tempting to do this…
“Sure, just watch TV all day. Yes, you can stay out as late as you desire and I won’t check up on you. That’s fine, my son, feel free to charge five Gatorades on the credit card every time you fill the car up with gas. Oh, don’t worry, you don’t have to do any chores. Yes, be like all the other teens your age. Excellence doesn’t matter any more – after all, you are “just a kid.”
But I know – It does matter!
Your effort matters. All the time we take to cultivate that soil reaps HUGE rewards.
IT MATTERS! Taking the time to go deep, to enrich, to cultivate makes the difference.
We may not see it now. We may not see it for years to come, but in the end, the pay off will be huge.
The days are long, really long, but the years are short.
Do the hard stuff! We won’t regret it when the harvest comes.