"Its supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it.
The hard... is what makes it great."
The hard... is what makes it great."
Why is obedience so hard sometimes? Scripture says, "broad is the way that lead to destruction, but narrow is the way that leads to eternal life and few will ever find it." Why is the right road often hard to see and difficult to traverse? In the words of Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own, "the hard is what makes it great."
God planted a dream in my heart.
A dream that, truthfully, had been there for many years dormant, a seed lying atop the soil of my heart. A seed I recognized, but one I had no intention of planting for fear of what that seed may grow in to. But, despite my contentment to allow the seed to simply lay there untouched above the brittle soil in the untouched portion of my heart's garden, a humble yet wise husbandman visited this garden, prepared the soil, and planted this seed.
Little did I know this seed would require so much tending, so much water, so much sun. I wasn't prepared for the constant work required to nurture this seed. This plant was costly, and continues to cost. Payment must be made, not only in time, but also in energy and in sacrifice. This seed, once sprouted, began to affect the entire garden. Every flower brighter in color, stalks tall and crisp, leaves full and green. Yet this one plant, though itself tending to the rest of the garden, required more attention than all the other plants combined.
My hands began to hurt, my eyes stung with sweat, my back crying from bending low to tend to this precious plant. My time consumed, my neighboring gardeners began to complain that I was withdrawn and asked if I was still their loyal friend. Some even complained that my garden was choking the neighboring plants and causing a burden to their fields. Some accused me of trying to make their gardens look weak and frail. I became ill both in my emotions and in my body. How could I care for this plant? How could I love a plant that was so painful to tend?
Yet in my despairing, the humble and wise husbandman came again to visit my garden. He brought me water to refresh my body, a cot to rest my back, and provided me a reprieve from tending to this plant. He consoled my sadness for my neighbor's words and began to instruct me on how to prune this precious plant. With his instructions, I began to see how this plant would boost my neighbor's yields and his constant words of kindness began to produce grace in my heart towards my neighbors. I began to love them.
As I began to heal from my pain, I learned to work with this gentleman and also began inviting my neighbors to help. The more we worked together, the more this plant, itself, tended to the gardens of my neighbors. The work it self was much harder, but the yields were greater. We noticed that though our toil had increased, so had our joy. The more we worked, the plant began to produce fruit for us to eat, a fruit that refreshed and renewed our strength. The more we tended and the more we ate, the easier the task became and the more beautifully the gardens grew.
People came from far and wide to see and taste the produce of our gardens. The more people who visited, the more difficult it was to tend the plant, yet from some of the visitors, the decision to stay meant sweet reprieve. We learned contentment in the seasons of difficulty and looked always to the joy of the seasons of ease. In all seasons, we were content to tend this plant because of the beauty that only came from its vine, reaching deeply into the hearts of our gardens.
As we are in the season of preparation for our call to missions, we walk a difficult road. However, God has blessed us with wonderful brothers and sisters to help us tend this dream. We are getting closer, but need the helping hands of our neighbors. The helping is difficult, but the reward is joyful. As we look to the difficult road ahead, saying good bye to our family, our home, our friends, and our comforts, we look to Christ and his strength. He will renew and refresh when we need it, but His desire is for us to work together. There is great reward in cooperation, as our hearts seek first His kingdom. The bearing of fruit is directly related to our connectedness to the vine of Christ and His purpose for each of our lives. Will you join with us in the call to the nations? Can we work together to bear fruits, both home and afar?
To find our more about our mission to Bolivia, check out our website!
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