The Keeper

I love going to the mailbox this time of year.

The beautiful Christmas cards filled with photos of family and friends always warm my heart.

Today, however, something more was accompanying my holiday treasure;

a brightly colored seed catalog for the upcoming new year.

I couldn't help but remember when I first began my love for gardening...

Forty years ago, I worked in a Mason City, Iowa, garden center. I was fresh out of college and just beginning my career in horticulture.

One day in early February, we were stocking the garden seed aisle.

I had the privilege of working with a woman with twenty-seven years of experience. Her name was Marie. I was overwhelmed as I looked down at a thirty-foot row of garden seeds. Then, I remembered something my dad taught me: "Experience is the best teacher, but it doesn't have to be your experience."

As I opened a box containing more than seven varieties of sweet corn, I asked a question. "Marie, how can I know the difference in this seed? What am I supposed to tell people when they ask which variety of corn to buy?" She graciously stopped what she was doing and taught me something I will never forget. "As a general rule, the *short-day corn is for eating fresh – like when the Fourth of July comes around, and we are all hungry for sweet corn at our family barbecue. But the *longer day corn is The Keeper. You can eat it fresh, but it is the best for freezing or canning."

I will always treasure those years and the lessons I learned.

My husband and I relocated our little family to Oklahoma fifteen years later. We moved to be part of a ministry in Tulsa.

When we arrived, we knew absolutely no one. The small town we left had a population of 7,000 people. The suburb we moved to had a population of nearly 75,000.

As the years passed, we never doubted that our move was right. But the dream in our hearts seemed very far away and impossible. Then, during my prayer time, the Lord reminded me of that day back in the garden center in Mason City.

Very clearly, I heard Him ask me, "Which harvest do you want, the short day or the keeper?" Without hesitation, I replied, "the keeper, Lord."

He said, "Trust Me."

Sometimes, we all wonder if God has lost our address.

Occasionally it feels like He has forgotten us completely.

"So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised."

Hebrews 10:36-37

God has not fallen off His throne, and, He never will.

He has a purpose and plan for each one of us.

Seek Him through His Word. He promised that you would find Him.

Know that His timing is perfect.

Stay encouraged in His word as you wait for your harvest, my friends.

He is faithful. His Word is Truth.

He never forgets… the keeper will be worth it!

*The term short or long day refers to the number on a seed packet stating the time from planting to maturity/harvest.