A Lesson from My Garden

I have a strange gardening habit. I like to take pictures of my large vegetable garden about once a month. It is amazing to see how much my plants grow in just 30 days, but it takes more than a month for most fruits or vegetables to ripen. My fruit trees use the entire growing season to produce ripe fruit. As summer fades into autumn, every few days I find myself checking my apple and pear trees to see how close they are to being ripe. All it takes is biting into a very sour apple to remind me to be patient until they are ready to pick.

Patience is a vital part of gospel ministry. We sow the Word in hearts and lives. We water by connecting on a relational level, but enjoying a harvest takes time and is ultimately in the Lord’s hands. This issue of Advance tells the stories of missionaries who are seeing fruit in their ministries. Rejoice with them. Pray for them. Support them. And consider joining them in eternity-shaping, fruit-gathering missions ministry.