Seed. Time. Harvest.

Motunrayo Alaka January 31, 2022Last Updated: January 31, 2022

3 minutes read

“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, and day and night Shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22

I penned this topic and thoughts around it down on the 31st of December 2021. Interestingly, one of our Pastors in church preached a similar message today. The Spirit of God is indeed one and God is more particular about the message than the messenger. I was truly blessed to hear the message and I hope this blesses you too.

The circle of life is pretty much all about the three words – seed, time, and harvest. While the Bible uses seedtime as a word, I have chosen to separate it as two words. For the purpose of this piece, I will call seed investment, time process, and harvest result. For you to get more out of 2022, you need to focus and be more intentional about these three phases.

Investment: The seed is your investment. It is a potential. It is meant to be cultivated for it to yield. It is the groundwork phase. It is the foundation. It does not look like much but it can become a lot. The seed is your regular savings of N10, 000 every month, your enrolment into that course, or your dedication to writing a page a day towards that book project. Your seed is your bit by bit deposit that looks negligible when you start but becomes impressive over time. It is a lonely and tedious time. You will have to sweat and work hard. It is a time of denial. You deny yourself some little pleasures, needs, and quick gains so you may spend some time preparing your ground and planting your seed appropriately. Not all seeds yield but when you cast them well, many will produce.

Process: This is a crucial part. The inspiration I got from the Holy Spirit is that the process is both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it is the duration of time that it takes for your seed to take root and start germinating. Every endeavour under the sun takes time. Depending on the type of investment or seed you choose to sow, the process will vary. Most vegetables grow within about six weeks but their lifespan is also short. However, the African Star Apple (Agbalumo) takes five to 10 years to grow and the tree can bear fruit for more than 25 years. The process as a verb, on the other hand, talks about the effort it takes to nurture investments. You would have to water, prune, fight insects and perform many more actions to ensure your investment yields. No one who wants a harvest makes an investment and goes to bed. You would have to allow the process and also process it. The process stage is an equally tough and lonely stage. It is the time for labour. It is time to actively wait.

Result: This is the part most people see, know, and love. Yet, without investment and process, there can be no result. You see people and love their lives. Often, when you hear the story of the investment and process it took them to get their result you would understand that you don’t have their lives because you cannot pay the price. Forget the hocus-pocus of false preachers. If you did not put money in your account, you cannot go to the cash machine with your card to get money out. In the same vein, if you do not invest your time, skill, effort, money, and more into your dreams, they will soon become nightmares. The harvest is when you enjoy the fruit of your labour. But those who did not labour should not expect fruits. This stage of life is shared. People love to associate with success. The length of your harvest will be determined by your investments and process.

When God gave the inspiration for Genesis 8:22, He used one of the most fundamental endeavours for mankind – farming, as a metaphor for life. There will always be opportunities to invest, process, and get results. January will end tomorrow. The season is dry now. There will soon be rain. There will be winter (in some places). Days will become night and night day and the year will end. Will you take the opportunities life will present in 2022?

Bible Inspired Thoughts (BITs) are inspirations/revelations I get from pondering on the word of God. They are thoughts that encourage/rebuke/correct/instruct me. I have a mandate to share for the benefit of others.