“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” -Robert Louis Stevenson

You may have read in past posts how some of my friends, who just happen to be writers, have taken a local waitress under their wings. From all indications, she does not have a personal relationship with Christ, but of course, only the Lord knows.

We’ve loved on her with generous tips, small gifts, kind words, and prayers — but last week’s table prayer was a first.

After asking the Lord to bless the French toast and bacon splattered across our plates (to which I sensed His response as “Really?”), I prayed for the health of our waitress, and then specifically for her to come to know Him. With that, we opened our eyes and discovered the waitress standing at the table waiting to fill our cups. I’m ashamed to say there was an immediate uneasiness within me. First, because it wasn’t how I’d imagined sharing the Gospel with her at some point, and secondly, because that “some point” had not come sooner.

I don’t know if her overhearing my prayer will reap a spiritual harvest, but I do know a seed was planted and now I pray for opportunities to continually water it with words of encouragement and however else the Lord leads.

The beautiful part of the story – of all our stories – is that the responsibility of the harvest lies with the Creator of the seeds. We’re called to plant and to water through a variety of ways, but God alone holds the power to bring forth the growth.