A Lesson in Farming

For the past few weeks, I have been introducing you to the people in my life who have taught me lessons about each one of the fruits of the spirit.  Here is this week's: patience.

Patience is a wonderful thing.  As a culture, we tend to appreciate it.  We like people that don't yell and can keep their cool.  In fact, we all wish we had a bit more.  We want patience.  And we'd like some now, please.

When we say someone is patient, we tend to mean they don't lose their cool in tense situations.  While this is wonderful quality (the Bible calls us to be slow to anger), I believe it is skewed from the biblical definition of faith.  Rather, patience is being able to work hard when our efforts don't show immediate or overwhelming results.

One of the most patient people I know has a job that requires quite a bit of investment without any quick results; he is a farmer.  Whether it's a stubborn goat or a slow-growing crop, he will pour himself into working towards the ultimate goal.  I have watched him calm spooked calves and plow dried fields.  I have seen him care for sick lambs and train hard-headed cattle, plant fields by hand and harvest them with careful precision.

But more than plants and animals, he pours himself into the youth he works with, encouraging them, correcting them, and investing in them.  He isn't just any farmer, he is the man in-charge of Conner Prairie's agriculture, meaning he has quite a bit of work to do with the many youth volunteers that make their way through the program.

The thing about youth is they don't always think about what they are doing before they act.  They make bad decisions.  They make bad decisions again.  And again.  They are the crop that struggles to grow.  But my friend has learned the secret: a properly raised sprout will eventually blossom.

When we don't see the results of our work, it's easy to give up.  Paul warns us against this conclusion in Galatians, when he says, "And let us not lost heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary."  There is a reward for those who push on, even when the outcome seems bleak and the work seems difficult.

Paul also writes in Galations, "Whatever one sows, that will he also reap."  I believe my friend will tell you that the man who plants corn will harvest corn.  He will probably also testify that the farmer who plants flax will harvest flax.  Well, my friend never lets a good job go unnoticed, even when it is small, because he is always looking for the good in others and the best way to help them grow.  I have heard him plant a "looks great" or a "well done" in the hearts of youth countless times.

And though the results may be slow, over time the youth grow into adults who have seen the model of Christ in his life.  For this reason, I strongly believe that one day he will stand before Christ and reap a "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

For Kevyn Miller, who I have never known to be too proud to pick a pen nor too tired to go the extra mile for someone.