on time and season for everything...

was just reminded of this devotional/sharing by one of the missionary wives over a year ago, when I was still a volunteer at my present office. She spoke about the Law of the Farm.* Having grown up in a farm in a temperate country, she related on how farmers need to keep to a schedule in order to have a good crop at harvest time.

No doubt God send the rains and the sunshine to water and to make the harvest grow, but the farmers have to do certain things by a certain time. Till the land in spring and sow the seeds, take out the weeds while the plants grow in summer, and harvesting the mature crops in autumn, to store up for provisions to tide over winter. She said no self-respecting farmer would plant crops in autumn and expect to reap it in the same season - it just doesn't work that way. 

 

Likewise, we should do the same with our lives. In order to receive the good things** that our Heavenly Father has in plan for us, we should partner with him in preparation. We must still continue to labor in certain areas in our lives, while trusting the God to send us His rains and sunshine.

Somehow the Lord led me back to this lesson in my own reflections. 3 weeks of January has flown past - just like that. In the figurative sense, I am coming out of the "winter" of 2006 and into the "springtime" of 2007. It's time to come out of the hibernation mode and shake off the comforts of warming by the fireside in my allegorical cottage. Time to take up the hoe and plow the gardens*** of  my life, and await upon His rains and sunshine.

 

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* Tried to Google- and Wiki-search the term "Law of the Farm" - but couldn't find it. Hmm, don't know whether my friend had copy-righted the term or not... :p

** Good things not because they are "blessings" in themselves (like physical and mental well-being, prosperity, a career/family/calling after one own heart's desires etc). But  Good things because they are from our God who only wants the best from us - even when He permits sufferings, pains and tests to come along our way.

*** I'm a "small-time agro-owner" :p don't have big fields. Then again, could be because I'm a lazy person by nature - don't like having big stuff. Less efforts mah, in upkeeping. :D Maybe that's why I don't have a large inheritance... hmm, thoughts for another blog entry...