I lean down on and reach under the church bench. Fingers threading through the tightly woven carpet I sigh as I try to gather up as many pieces of crumbled cereal as I can.
One of the VBS kids this morning took his breakfast along in a plastic bag resulting in this.
After cleaning it up as best as I can, I go and make my rounds to deal with any potential problems. As the director of the VBS program it’s part of my job to keep things running as smoothly as possible. Not an easy job with 80 children from very diverse backgrounds and many with unique behavioral and emotional needs. Yet listening to them sing the songs they learned and recite the Bible verses they memorized is such a big encouragement.
Who knows what will happen to the seeds planted in these children’s hearts?
As I persevered through the week God brought to mind Psalm 126:6 (KJV) “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
“If it was easy work, would the sower be weeping, daughter?”
And later Galatians 6:9 (NKV) “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
It brought back memories of a trip with HFL that I had just gone on a few months back. It was summer on the Island of Hispaniola, and it was HOT. During the day sweat dripped off our faces and down our backs, and tiny, almost invisible mosquitoes feasted on our ankles. At night as we tried to fall asleep, our sheets were wet with sweat, and it felt almost as if we were baking in an oven. Giant moths and bugs flew all around us as there were no screens on the windows and it was too hot to keep them closed. Yet with God’s help we persevered, encouraging the people, praying with and providing food baskets during home visits, sharing God’s Word at a women’s Bible study group and sharing Bible stories and crafts with neighborhood children. Sowing seeds.
As glamourous as the social media highlight reels may look the reality can often be much different. Someone approached my husband recently and said “I would love to do what you do! Your social media photos and videos are amazing!” Inside I kind of snickered. Yes, in our work we get to travel to amazing places, but those videos don’t show the not-so-glamourous aspects. The long hours cramped in small spaces on airplanes, the jet lag, the exhaustion, the heat and humidity, the bugs, the dirt, the often-challenging cross-cultural communication, and the almost inevitable travelers diarrhea.
Yet we persevere.
Because of God’s calling. Because of His promise. Because it’s worth it. We might not be aware of everything God’s doing but we are called to be obedient.
John Piper says: “God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.”
One thing we do know is that whatever He promises will happen. And as we strive to faithfully sow and water seeds He will bring the increase. And one day, if not in this life then the next, we will rejoice bringing our sheaves with us! (Psalm 126:6)
