When I was young, I used not to understand my dad when he continued growing sugarcane and pineapples in one of the gardens that thieves stole the sugarcane and the pineapples almost every harvesting season. I remember one day he came home complaining that thieves have stolen almost half of the sugarcane in the garden. I was not happy to hear that news because I knew that those thieves ruined the good plans that my dad had of buying new clothes and church shoes for me after selling that sugarcane. I seriously needed those church clothes and shoes. In anger I said to my dad, “Just abandon that garden because you are wasting your energy for nothing only to benefit those that steal from the garden.” My dad looked at me and said, “You don’t abandon the garden because of the thieves.” My dad was nicknamed “Mr Gentleman” because of his gentleness in handling issues and on that day I witnessed his gentle spirit that he never gave up and the following years he continued growing the sugarcane, pineapples and added bananas to the same garden.
It’s almost 17 years now since my dad rested in the Lord, but reflecting on his character and how he handled that situation, two lessons come to my mind. First, successful people are those that never quit following their dreams despite facing discouragements. Many of us stopped doing some projects just because we were let down by something. Borrowing my father’s words let me tell you this: “We don’t stop pursuing our dreams because of being let down.”
Second, God does not abandon us even though we have become unfruitful to His course. Everyday He is still blessing us despite knowing that the devil is ready to enjoy those blessings instead of Him. He is a gentle God whose gentleness is exhibited through His unfailing love that while we were in sin, He sent His Son to die for us Romans 5:8. Some of you may be thinking that you have sinned beyond God’s grace, but good news is that “God does not abandon you because you committed a sin.” However, the more sin increased the more His grace increased (Romans 5:20) with the purpose to draw us closer to Him. Be blessed brethren by this reflection.
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