High in the seventies today—makes me want to plant something. But echoing in my ears are the words of my dad who grew up in a farming family and always reminded me this time of year when I reached for my garden spade to put flowers or vegetables in the ground, “We’re going to have more cold weather, you better wait.”
Wait.
Now there’s a word for you. Easy to say. Hard to do.
When
things start turning green, I just know I can get around our last freeze date for
our planting zone of April 15. But more times than not, when I ignore the
wisdom of those who know better than me, I wind up replacing what I’ve planted
as the last frost takes my tender shoots out.
Patience is not my strong suit, and the Lord is still working on me for sure. Maybe you, too.
In other situations, I also want to jump ahead. I want to fix them myself, instead of allowing the Lord
to work in His time. When I do try to intervene, it often turns out like my
early planting bringing no good result and possibly resulting in even more
problems.
The
Psalmist wrote, “Wait for the Lord: be strong and take heart and wait for the
Lord’ (Psalm 27:14).
But
sometimes, it’s hard to understand God’s timing especially when we’ve prayed long.
Peter
reminds us, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand
slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone
to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God has been so patient with us. We need
to be patient with God as he works in the lives of those around us, or as we
wait for a promise to be fulfilled in our own lives.
Even
as I write this, the Lord is reminding me of situations where my hope and
patience have been flagging, and He is encouraging me to persevere in waiting.
So,
if you’re tempted to plant early, remember your last frost date. And maybe right now, if you’re tempted
to jump ahead of God, remember Peter’s words.
Meanwhile, we can always plant a few seeds indoors and get them going. That should hold
us as we wait.