0:00 A single sequoia seed weighs less than one-tenth of a gram.0:05 From that tiny beginning, a tree can grow three hundred feet tall.0:11 In our last reflection, we talked about finding peace in our everyday choices.0:18 Today’s reading is for the days that follow those choices, especially when we feel tired of waiting for something to grow.0:29 Here is the reading from the book of Galatians, chapter six, verse nine.0:35 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.0:45 That’s a short verse, but it holds so much.0:49 Let’s sit with it for a moment.0:51 The first thing to notice is that it acknowledges the feeling.0:57 Weariness.0:58 It doesn’t say, “Don’t ever feel tired.” It assumes we will.1:03 The work of being a good person—of being kind when you’d rather be sharp, of being patient when you’re feeling rushed, of choosing integrity when the shortcut looks so easy—that work is tiring.1:21 It’s okay to feel that.1:23 The verse gives us permission to be human.1:27 The encouragement is in the next phrase: “let us not become weary.” It suggests we have a choice.1:35 We can feel the exhaustion, but we don’t have to let it become our home.1:42 We don’t have to let it win.1:44 Here’s what that means if you’re heading into a difficult day.1:50 The good you are doing is described as planting a seed.1:55 Think about that.1:56 You don’t plant a seed and then come back an hour later expecting a full-grown plant.2:04 That would be absurd.2:06 You plant it, you water it, and then you wait.2:10 You trust the process.2:12 The “doing good” is your part.2:15 It’s the showing up.2:17 It’s the gentle word.2:18 It’s the choice to forgive.2:21 It’s the prayer you say for someone who doesn’t know you’re praying for them.2:28 These are the seeds.2:30 And then comes the most important part of the promise.2:34 “For at the proper time we will reap a harvest.” Notice it doesn’t say when that time will be.2:43 It just says the proper time.2:45 This is the hardest part.2:48 It’s the part that requires the most faith.2:52 Our timing is not always God’s timing.2:55 We want the harvest now.2:57 We want to see the results of our efforts immediately.3:02 We want the relationship to be healed today.3:06 We want the peace in our heart to arrive this morning.3:11 But the verse asks us to trust that there is a season for everything.3:17 A time for planting, and a time for reaping.3:21 They are not the same season.3:24 Here’s what that means if you feel like your efforts are going unnoticed.3:30 If you’ve been trying so hard, for so long, and you see no change.3:36 This verse is a quiet hand on your shoulder.3:40 It’s whispering that the harvest is not based on your feeling, but on God’s promise.3:48 The outcome is not in doubt.3:50 Your job isn’t to create the harvest.3:54 Your job is simply not to give up.3:57 To plant one more seed of goodness today, even if you’re tired.4:02 To trust that the growth is happening, even when it’s happening underground, where you cannot see it.4:11 The final phrase is the key that unlocks it all: “if we do not give up.” The harvest is conditional, but the condition is entirely within our control.4:25 It’s not about being perfect.4:27 It’s not about being the strongest or the fastest.4:32 It’s simply about endurance.4:34 It’s about continuing.4:36 So as you move through your day, remember this.4:41 Every small act of love is a seed.4:44 Every moment of patience is a seed.4:47 Every time you choose grace over judgment, you are planting something that will one day grow.4:55 You may not see the harvest today.4:58 You may not see it tomorrow.5:01 But it is coming.5:02 The work you are doing in the quiet, unseen moments of your life matters more than you know.5:11 The seed is in the ground.5:13 The sun is in the sky.5:15 The harvest is not a question of ‘if’—only ‘when’.
