Don't Lose Heart

A few years back, my then 24 year old son, Adam, called to tell me about his day, which was a pretty common occurrence.  His opening statement, however, was a bit uncommon.  He said, “I have a story to tell you, then I need to apologize for something.” Honestly, my first though was, “Oh, great! What’d you do?”

What in the world did he need to apologize for?  Did he put a dent in my car?  Did he say something negative about me to one of his friends?  Is there some big “sin” that he needs to confess? What would bring on this sudden need to apologize? Once my mind stopped racing, he proceeded to tell me about what had occurred while he was giving a guitar lesson earlier that day. 

As he was instructing his young student in this young man’s home, he could hear his student’s brother speaking very loud and disrespectfully to his mother.  This kept on and on, making it difficult for Adam to focus and give the guitar lesson.  Finally, he couldn’t take it any longer. He stopped, went out into the hall and told the young man, “Please don’t speak to your mother that way.  It’s disrespectful and it’s not okay. I never want to hear you talk to her like that again!” As you can imagine, the teenager’s jaw dropped to the floor!  The mother looked stunned!  Everyone became silent.  Adam then turned to the mom and said, “I’m sorry if I stepped on your toes.  But I didn’t like the way he was speaking to you.  It’s not acceptable.”  The mom replied with, “Don’t be sorry.  Thank you.”

Adam then became very somber and sincere. “I want to apologize for all of the times I spoke to you disrespectfully when I was a teenager.  I know that my words were hurtful, and I am very, very sorry.”  Now I was stunned and speechless.  It was at that moment that I knew my son was now a fully-grown man.  I also realized that what the experts say is true…their brains do fully form at 24 or 25!!!

I remembered all of those times when he was growing up when I thought he paid absolutely no attention to what I was attempting to teach him.  I thought he never listened to a word I said.  I felt like Charlie Brown's teacher, "Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah." I often wondered if I was making any difference at all.  Now I knew that the opposite was true. He had listened.  He had learned. 

I was reminded of Galatians 6:9 – “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap a harvest if we do not lose heart.”   Some translations interpret "lose heart" as "give up" or "grow weary."  I know there had been many times when I wanted to do all of those things.  But it was then that I realized...this was my harvest. My parenting, teaching, guiding and mentoring was paying off. 

You may currently be in a season that has brought with it weariness.  You may be discouraged. Perhaps you feel like no one listens, or you question whether or not you’re making any difference at all. Maybe it seems like you're never going to get "a leg up" at work, church, or wherever it is that your passion lies. Or perhaps you are tired of loving and giving and not receiving anything in return.

Even if this is your current reality, God’s Word encourages us not to grow weary and lose heart—because we WILL reap a harvest! He doesn’t say we MIGHT reap a harvest, but we WILL reap a harvest. His Word is true and it never fails—never.   So if you’re feeling a little weary today, or if you feel that way tomorrow, or next week, remember...don’t lose heart...the harvest is coming. And it’s going to be a great one!

Just a thought to keep in mind.  

Much love - Cammie