Everything Has Its Time

lessons from rain and the seasons

It was at a time when I was eagerly waiting for something specific to happen but knew that I would have to wait for one more year until it would come into being. Patience had never been my strength, so it seemed unbearable to me to have to wait for so long. One more year! This seemed like an eternity to me. Truth be told, I was impatient and wished I could just turn the clock forward to 365 days later. This is impossible, of course. So I asked myself how I could live this time of waiting well. How I could learn to be patient and content in the midst of my restlessness?

The answer came to me in an unexpected way. It was a cool October morning. I was cycling to the farm I was working on at that time. As the sun slowly rose, a light rain shower began. On the side of the road, a beautiful scene prompted me to stop and take a photograph. A tractor was driving over a bare field. The light, together with that drizzling rain, created a marvellous morning atmosphere. As the field was soaked with that soothing rainwater, a saying came to my mind. “Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the autumn and spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage!” (1)

The ways of the seasons

In autumn, farmers sow their seeds onto the prepared soil. After sowing, they hope for rain so that the seeds can germinate quickly. Late autumn and winter are times of rest. After the plants have grown to some extent, they stop their growth, waiting for warmer and longer days.

With temperatures rising in spring, the plants take life on again. All they need now is sunlight and, again, a lot of water. The farmer can only hope for rain and help the plants’ growth by controlling rivalling weeds, fungi and insects. With the growing season coming to its end in summer, drier conditions are more favourable.

The harvesting machines can now take in the eagerly expected harvest. What has been invisible one year ago is now finally there. The reward of all the hard work is an abundant harvest, something that would be impossible without all the preceding steps. The sowing, the watering, the waiting, and ultimately, the harvesting.

Capturing the moment

It is a basic principle in nature that plants, just like any living being, need watering and time in order to grow. How could it be any different in our lives? The most precious things take time to mature and grow. But not only do they take time, the process of watering and tending them is also indispensable. Without the rainfall, the plants wouldn’t be able to grow at all.

And it is the image of that final goal in your mind that helps you keep going. This simple truth I knew so well from agriculture helped me grow patience in my own life. If you know where you are going, the time of “waiting” can suddenly be transformed into an adventure. An adventure of embracing every new day with all its joy and struggles and of watching your harvest grow.

Sometimes, you could well reach your goals the fast and easy way by skipping the time of growth and maturing. But in the process, you might have trampled on holy ground, that is, on precious relationships. Of course, it is not always easy to truly be patient, especially if there is no rain or no harvest in sight yet. But it is a virtue that is worth pursuing. I have found that it is so much more enjoyable to take that road of life with patience and contentment than to always be waiting for the next road mark.

Unfulfilled dreams, fulfilled life?

What I had been hoping for to come true last October didn’t happen in the end. While I must admit that it is not easy to accept yet another season of waiting, I feel strangely at peace. Behind me lays a year rich with experience, blessings, lots of happiness, and some sorrows… A portfolio of memories, feelings, lessons and photographs.

I now know that there is a time for everything and that it takes courage to embrace every single day, even when we do not know its ending. Without that conviction, I would not have cherished those beautiful 365 days as much that now separate me from that calm October morning. And this morning? I’m admiring the autumn rainfalls becoming more frequent again, as they water the thirsty ground ready for a new season of growth.

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(1) The Bible, James 5, 7-8