Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 15 of our Wisdom-Trek and thank you for joining me. 

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Today we look at The Five Principles of Planting and Harvesting.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina.  It is good to be back for three weeks, as we focus on the many business projects that we have to complete.

As much as Paula and I love The Big House, it is nice to also spend time in a much smaller and virtually maintenance-free home in Charlotte.  The weather is rather warm this week around the 90+°  mark for each day.  I am thankful for the AC and being able to stay inside for the most part.

Tonight Rebecca, one of my sisters who lives in Charlotte and is a couple of years older, is coming over for dinner, and we plan on sorting through some boxes of old pictures from our childhood.  We are going to set aside the ones that are worth scanning so that we can preserve them electronically and share them with our other siblings.

There are ten children in our family, and we are blessed  that we are all still alive and healthy.  The memories of our childhood are precious to us all.  As we go through life’s trek together, it is good to have family and friends to encourage us along our way.

Here is one of those pictures of Mom with the ten kids, and then a recent picture of this past Thanksgiving where six of us were able to gather at The Big House. (I am the one on the back right.)  Although Mom is no longer with us, Dad is still going strong – healthy and enjoying a life where he does not have to work hard to barely make ends meet.   It was a great childhood, and although we were poor by most any standards, we learned to work hard, love always, and make the best of each day.

Thank you for allowing us to share tidbits of our life trek with you as we are continually learning to enjoy the journey each day.

Please share your stories or questions with us on Wisdom-Trek.com/Contact Us. We will work them into future podcasts so that everyone on our Trek can get to know each other.

Yesterday we looked at just how important the practice of sharing our experience and wisdom is as we share life’s road together.  It has the potential to radically transform those that we teach or share with, and reinforces the lessons we have learned in our own lives as well.  If you have missed any previous podcasts or journals, please go back and check them out on iTunes, Stitcher or Wisdom-Trek.com.

Today on our Trek, we have scaled to a little plateau where we can see through a clearing in the trees. As we look through this clearing we see a large field of wheat as it gently blows in the breeze.  As we visualize this, can you feel the soft wind as it circles around you?

Our wisdom nugget today will be about the principles of planting and harvesting.  If you grasp how these concepts impact all areas of life, they will lay the foundation for a life filled with abundance and joy, while you are creating that living legacy.

I would like to title today’s Trek The Five Principles of Planting and Harvesting. We will use the analogy of a farmer, as this is easiest for most of us to understand.

1. The farmer knows that planting is a choice. If we ever expect to see a harvest, we must first choose to plant a crop.  In the same manner, if we expect to see positive results in any area of our lives, we must be willing to invest in purchasing the seeds and then choosing to plant those seeds.  Without these two crucial steps, there will be no harvest.   Investment in resources and time always precedes returns.  To think otherwise would be foolish
2. The farmer knows what type of crop he wants to plant. Since planting requires a substantial investment, the farmer is careful to know and understand what type of crop has the best potential return. He has done his research, and he is prepared to plant and harvest based on the type of crop that he has chosen. The farmer has the best land possible, the right equipment, an understanding of the calendar, knowledge of the cultivation schedule, and expertise regarding the water and nutrients necessary for the crop to yield its intended result. If he is careless on any of these areas or if he fails to plan properly, he stands to lose everything.  Decide each day what type of harvest you want in your life and then plant those seeds.
3. The farmer knows that he will harvest the same type of crop that he planted. If he wants to harvest wheat, then he will plant wheat.  If corn, then he will plant corn.  In the same manner, if we desire to harvest an abundance of positive results in all areas of life, then we have to plant the same type of seeds.
4. The farmer knows that the harvest will be in proportion to but greater than what he planted. No farmer would bother planting unless he expected a crop of many times what was planted.  Those returns can be 100, 200, or 300 times the amount that was planted. A single gain of wheat can produce eight or more heads with over 40 seeds per head. That would equate to 320 gains of wheat from a single grain.  That is a good return. The farmer also knows that the more seeds that he plants, the larger the overall harvest will be, but only to the level that he can reasonably handle during harvest time.  We too should expect a good return from the seeds that we plant every day in our own lives and the lives of others.  To think differently would ignore the principles (or law) of planting and harvesting.  We also need to understand that we should only plant what we can reasonably handle at harvest time.
5. The farmer knows that he will harvest in a different season than when he planted. In our fast-paced society, we are so impatient. Many times we expect to harvest in the same season as when we planted. This will not happen.  The farmer understands that between planting time and harvesting time he will need to provide nourishment, water, weed control, and protection from inclement weather for the venerable and precious seed.  If we are going to expect a good return for the seeds that we plant in our lives and the lives of others, then we have to be prepared to nurture that seed, and be willing to wait for harvest time, which may be many months, or even years, in the future.

If we instill these five principles of planting and harvesting into every area of our lives, we will see a radical change in us and those that we impact.

There is a concept that is often missed, though. If we are going to expect a harvest, then the original seed must die so that it can bring new life in abundance.  In the same way in order for growth to occur in the seeds that we plant in ourselves and others we have to let go of (or die to) our old and comfortable ways so that we can grow.

Bible verses that refer to this are found in the Apostle Paul’s 1^st letter to the church in Corinth chapter 15:36-38 where Paul is speaking of our future resurrected bodies, “When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.  And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting.  Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed.”

The Bible has many verses referring to planting and harvesting, and we will spend another day in the future exploring some more of those stories, analogies, and lessons.

For today, since our focus is on The Five Principles of Planting and Harvesting, we will end with this encouraging verse from Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia chapter 6:9-10, “So let’s not get tired of planting seeds of goodness. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.  Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.”

Sowing and reaping, planting and harvesting – these concepts are so important for our lives. Our destiny depends on it. As Ralph Waldo Emerson put it,

That will finish our journal for today. Tomorrow we will look at the value of small incremental gains in our trek of life each day and how that applies to creating a living legacy.

Please download The Five Principles of Planting and Harvesting free PDF by clicking on the image below:

Please check into our “camp” tomorrow for another day on our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

I encourage you to leave a discussion topic, comment, suggestion, or question about this podcast in the comment form on Wisdom-Trek.com/day15, or email me at guthrie@venturecg.com.  If you would like us to discuss any topics or answer any questions during our podcast, please let us know. We would love to have interaction from members of our Wisdom-Trek team.

Please subscribe on iTunes or the player of your choice so Wisdom-Trek is downloaded each day automatically.  We also have a Subscribe to Podcast page.

Please leave us a rating on each episode. It means so much to us. Also, pread the word to everyone you know to join us on our Wisdom-Trek. Thank you!

Check out Wisdom-Trek.com for the daily journal, wisdom nuggets, and free resources.

As we take this Trek together let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy the Journey, and Create a Great Day! See you tomorrow!