Patience

Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. I don't know any farmers but I do have a lot of respect for their patience, faith, and work ethic. Preparing the soil for planting, then planting, watering, weeding, making sure bugs don't ruin everything, praying for enough rain but not too much, harvesting. It's a lot of work with no guarantee that things will work out as planned. And then it's time to do it all over again. Farmers are men and women of great faith. The verse reminds me of a quote that I like: "The best time to plant a tree was 20 yrs ago, the second best time is right now." What seeds did I plant today? We went to Dante's swim team Christmas party tonight and as soon as we got to the restaurant, Dante was off with his friends - we enjoyed seeing him having fun away from the pool, away from the performance-driven pressure of a meet, just kids being kids. He didn't want to leave, even when it was time to go to evening service like we always do. So after giving it some thought, we stayed. Seeds were planted tonight - Dante belongs now, he's one of them. He's a Flying Fish through and through (our team name) and this will shape his identity (I'm thinking for the better) for years to come. Like a farmer he is going to learn through swimming the lessons of patience, faith, and working hard.