Store shelves are heaving with Christmas goodies waiting for us to take home, toy catalogs already pile on our counters, and the radio stations started featuring carols. We’ve begun to usher in Christmas, and we haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving. Even if we are “pregnant” with hope or excitement for something coming up, we need to care for some things before birth. We’ve gone overboard in ushering Christmas into our lives. It’s such a perfect parallel to our positions today. We live rushed, we get what we want, instantaneously, so naturally, we get discouraged and have trouble with things that always require time and growth. God surrounds us with beautiful examples in nature to remind us. We just need to take a little time.
Don’t Hurry Growth
When we are frustrated and discouraged but let’s not forget one thing. We don’t see trees getting depressed and down, striving to sprout a leaf or pop out some fruit. Years ago, I was frustrated about some things taking so long, and no matter how hard I worked, it wasn’t effective. My mind went to a little apple tree I had grown in my yard. Then God dropped the inspiration for the poem below in my mind. I thought it was a good time to share it again.
