Reason #193

I keep getting junk e-mails for vacation getaways. It's summer, and every year I slightly mourn the fact that I don't get 3 months off for summer vacation but rather have to work all 12 months of the year. I have been out of school for almost 4 years now, so you think I wouldn't miss it as much. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Does that desire to have a break from May - August ever go away? I doubt it.

As I dried my hair this morning, which I get tired of doing most mornings, I thought about how I’d just like for things to pause for a moment. I’d like to find a beach, plop down on a beach towel, overdose on Vitamin D, and have someone bring me smoothies with little umbrella toothpicks in them. A retreat, an escape! But I drove to work and the only warmth I felt came from the space heater that I keep running in my office year round. After using up all of my brain power within the first 4 hours of the work day, I thought about how nice it would be to have some time away. I could seriously use some time to do nothing. Time to be away from work, from the every day busy-ness of life, time away from responsibility and time away from technology. Because the truth is, I feel a little tired. Not sleepy-tired, but just plain tired.

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” – Galatians 6:9

But giving up sounds easy some days. Slacking off and letting go sounds kind of nice, too. And I remember that it's not always supposed to be easy. Some things take work, some things take patience and so we wait to harvest. A friend once told me, "Sometimes you get to plant the seed, sometimes you get to water the seed, and sometimes you get to harvest the seed." Either way, in any stage, work is required. But here's the thing, when planted, there's always a harvest. And so, if you get tired and give up, if you wear yourself out and slack off, you may not have much to harvest if anything at all. In fact, you may not want to harvest what has grown.

"As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do..." - Ephesians 6:6-8

And so we reap what we sow. We sow goodness, we work with all of our heart, with enthusiasm and thanksgiving because that's the Lord's will, and harvest of blessing will be produced. But it's a decision, it's a choice. Do you get tired, get distratced, get discouraged or sucked back in to doing your own will and miss the blessing harvest? Or do you keep going, even when tired, even when feeling overwhelmed, inadequate and confused, and anticipate that blessing harvest? Because it will come, and it will come at just the right time. For He knows, He's watching, every little seed that we sow, and He'll make sure we reap accordingly. (Galatians 6:7)

#193- Because we harvest blessings when we don't give up!

"Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness." - 2 Corinthians 9:10