Don't Judge Each Day By the Harvest You Reap...

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.

     Robert Louis Stevenson

Thank you guys for always checking in with me and being encouraging.  I know it sounds like I don’t appreciate all you are doing…but trust me…I do…very much.

We were greeted with this message, this morning, from someone with whom we connect often, several times each week.  It is messages such as this one that remind us that the “seeds we plant” do make a difference. 

Some days we never know.  Does our listening really matter?  Does our counsel make a difference?  Does the message of grace, compassion and authenticity we always attempt to share break through?

But just when we wonder, just when we are tempted to doubt, well … we receive a word of affirmation that reminds us that our doubts are unfounded.

There are not a lot of tangible, measurable qualities to the work we do.   In a world that is so results-oriented, judged so toughly by the money that is made, the number of activities we have on our calendars and the accomplishments we have checked off our lists, so much of our sense of worth is based on what we produce.

All of us, we are certain, question in one way or another whether or not we are doing anything that makes a difference.  We ask, “Do I really matter?”

Your caring means the world to me.  I am hoping that I may be entering a period of peace after a few really awful weeks.  The sun is shining, it is warm and pretty outside, and such a day has to give one hope.  Thank you again for caring enough to be there when I’ve needed you.

And then, we receive a message such as this one, to remind us that – yes – we do make a difference.  We really do matter.

All of us, whatever our work, whatever our activities, whatever our roles in life, want to matter.  We want to know that what we do or say or offer is something of value and meaning.  We all want to know that our life does make this world better because we are in it.  That our being in it has added something unique and vital and lasting to those around us and to those who will live on beyond us. 

But sometimes, often times, the value that any of us have is not easily measurable and “harvestable” in traditional, statistical ways.  Yet, most times, our significance is measured not in dollar signs, busy schedules or checklists completed.  It’s definitely not the number of things we get or have that bring significance to our lives.  Instead, our significance is measured in the joy we bring and experience, the grace we offer and accept, the compassion we foster and encourage, the love we share and feel.  

For us, it is words such as these that help to remind us of that.  It’s the seeds we plant.  Pure and simple.  The harvest from them is richer and more abundant than what we can fully imagine.  

This process with you two wonderful people seems to be more worthwhile than hours with a shrink! So I will keep on keepin’ on! 

With heartfelt thanks…….

Photo by Sebastian Klein on Unsplash