When the Seeds Grow
I often think about our responsibility to plant seeds in people. It's an idea I shared about HERE (thanks, Gary!) and HERE (thanks, Laura!), but it's always on my mind. One of the problems with planting seeds is that they don't care much about my desire for instant gratification. When I plant seeds, I want results now! Life doesn't work that way, unfortunately.
Yesterday, I was sitting in a coaching meeting with a new client. The client happened to be two former youth group kids, who have since graduated college, got married, and are now well into their careers. We had a wonderful time, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to walk alongside them in a new way.
In the middle of the conversation, they shared details about a few financial decisions they've made over the years. These decisions have set them up for so much success...I was blown away. Impressed and shocked at how counter-cultural this was, I asked him where he got those ideas. "I got them from you! I learned it in your high school money class."
Wow. Just wow. That was nearly a decade ago. He was just 16 or 17 years old, spending his Sunday afternoons attending a class I annually host for our high school youth group kids. He and I were pretty close then, so I vividly remember our time together. He was very inquisitive and always curious to learn new things. However, like with most teenagers, it was difficult to know how much would actually stick. Planting seeds.
Fast forward a decade, and those seeds have grown so much. It's delayed gratification at its finest. He hasn't been perfect. He's made lots of mistakes. He's made some poor choices along the way. But on the whole, it's beautiful to see how these ideas have taken shape in his life.
We don't always get to see our seeds after they've grown......but sometimes we do! And when we do, it should encourage us that our good work matters. There are days when we want to quit. There are days when we question why we're doing what we're doing. There are days when it seems futile. There are days when it all seems like too much to bear.
But then, in these special little moments, we're honored with the opportunity to see the beauty of those tiny little seeds blossoming into something we could never have imagined.
It's worth it. Please don't forget that. It's always worth it. Keep planting those seeds.