A story keeps crossing my path lately. I am not sure of its original source, but I wanted to share it with you.
A farmer will plant bamboo and he will water and fertilize it the first year. And nothing will happen.
The second year he will faithfully attend the plant. Watering and fertilizing and nothing will happen.
The third year he will again spend it watering and fertilizing only to see nothing for his work.
The fourth year will be spent in the fields once more watering and fertilizing. And the year will close showing no purpose or progress for the hours spent tending.
The fifth year he will repeat the process again. But this time he will watch the plants grow sixty feet in six weeks time. So fast you could almost stand there and watch the plants grow.
The question to be asked: How long did it take the bamboo to grow sixty feet, six weeks or five years? The answer is obviously five years. For if there had not been the previous years of careful work and faithful service there would not have been the fifth year of stunning growth. Bill Gates said, “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” Our failure of estimation often leads us to stop too soon on our dreams or sometimes to never start.
When nothing is happening and life is not growing and your dreams and plans don’t seem to be going anywhere do what you can do in your life: dig, plant, fertilize.
Invest in yourself. Invest in others. Never give up.
Pastor Stephen