Slice of Life: March 17 -- Planting Seeds

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant." ~Robert Louis Stevenson.

I don't have much of a green thumb.  Each summer I plant flowers at our house and, more often than not, by the time school starts, they have long dried up and withered away.  I don't fare much better with house plants.  The two that are in my office are only alive thanks to my secretary who faithfully waters them.  My husband wants to eventually plant a garden, but I worry that my lack of skill with flowers and plants will transcend into vegetables as well.

My life is much the same way.  Sometimes I forget to "water" the relationships in my life.  I don't spend enough time with my friends or family or I forget to tell others how much they truly mean to me.  Sometimes I get preoccupied with being busy and simply fail to be as effective as I want to be.  There are days when I feel like I haven't reaped much of a harvest.  I feel like I haven't made much of a difference, that I haven't been impactful, or that I've let others down.  It's in those moments that this quote comes to mind.

Farmers don't reap a harvest each day.  They plant seeds, water them, fertilize them, and over time, watch them grow.  It's only after lots of work, time, and effort that the harvest is reaped.  While the harvest is what receives the attention of others, it's the daily effort that goes in to planting the seeds that makes the harvest possible. 

The message is simple.  Live each day with the intent of planting seeds so that one day you may reap a harvest.  Invest time in a friendship.  Spend time with your family.  Give your schoolwork or your job your best effort.  Even on lazy, spring break days, find a way to make a difference.  Pay someone a compliment.  Do something nice for someone else.  You may not know the impact those little acts of kindness will have on someone.  You may never see the harvest, but know that each simple act plants the seed that lets someone know you care. 

Remember, the daily effort is what makes the harvest possible.