Parable of the Impatient Gardener by Bill Hernandez - Prophetic Overseer

Once upon a time there was a boy who with great enthusiasm plowed a field with perfect rows and spread seeds among the rows and watered them. He knew it would be glorious when the garden came fully alive. He then waited and waited daily watering the field and watching for the results of his labor. Day in and day out he watched and waited as the sun rose and set, as the rains came, the winds came, the cold came and the seasons changed. He waited through good and bad weather and nothing happened. The field just looked like the day he first plowed it. Slowly, but surely, he became impatient, frustrated, disappointed and angry because his garden was doing nothing at all. He became bitter and upset believing that none of the seeds he had planted were viable and in fact dead. All his work was for nothing it seemed. There was nothing to look forward to anymore and so he spent his days crest fallen. His hope had not died and his faith had not really died either. He was heartbroken feeling betrayed by his efforts which where in vain. One day he noticed a tiny seedling appear in his garden, but because he was heartbroken and bitter he only believed that what he saw was a weed. It grew more leaves as it got bigger, but also throughout the field seedlings were springing up. He could only believe through his broken heart that those too were just weeds until there were so many of them that he began to believe that some indeed were the flowers that he had planted. He saw a mixture of weeds and flowers because he couldn’t believe otherwise. He was still feeling pain, but not as much. The plants began to show buds and as more buds appeared, his heart began to feel lighter, happier, confident and his days were less dark as more and more buds appeared. Finally all the buds opened and the entire field was filled with glorious, fragrant flowers. All the pain in his heart had disappeared and the dark and gloomy days were just like a nightmare that had passed because there was so much joy. His hard work had indeed paid off and it truly was never in vain. A great harvest awaits us and the seedlings are slowly appearing as the Lord shows us a taste here and there of the great wave of His Spirit sweeping over the land. I believe it’s important to not let discouragement and frustration take root in our hearts during this time of tarrying. I believe this is not the time to make drastic decisions that can alter the course of our lives because it may be motivated by pain. The seedlings are coming alive each day and we will be in a time of so much joy over the harvest that any darkness we are in now will have faded like a forgotten dream of sorrows. The work you have done in people’s lives, in the community, in church, in relationships, in ministry will bear so much fruit. It will be like a fruit tree laden with so much fruit that the branches will be nearly breaking and that is the time to harvest … and to party. So don’t give up. Hoped deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 whisperoflove.org