| Proverbs 21:5 – “Careful plans can lead to profit. but if you are not careful, and you do things too quickly, then you will become poor.” |
When is the best time to do something?
All kinds of books have been written about the topic. One of the most well-known is a book called “When.”
It’s not an idle topic because the answer brings either happiness or regret.
When I was a boy, my mother had friends who had a cotton farm in Stanton, TX.
We went each year. For someone who lived in the city, it was a time for great entertainment.
My brother and I Ioved climbing over tractors and chasing rabbits between cotton stalks.
But there was one thing I hated.
Each July, we went for a week. But it wasn’t for rabbit chasing.
We were put to work picking black-eyed peas from the acre containing the “garden.” And I hated picking peas. It was hard and dull. I complained.
Then, it got worse. At night, I was handed a pan and what was called “a mess of peas” and was told to snap and shell them. I had to break open the hulls and slide the peas into the pot.
I can think of nothing more boring than shelling peas.
But once that was done, I was free to race to tractors and pump-jacks. That’s when my mother and her friend got busy.
They had stocked up on Mason jars, seals, and lids.
For the next several days, they “put up” or canned the shelled peas.
At the end, we would go home where the cases of peas replaced the monsters under the bed.
Time passed and blue norther winters descended.
Then, sometime in the middle of winter, my mother would drag a case of peas out from under the bed and we would enjoy the peas I hated picking and shelling.
And, I must admit. I loved them.
It was a simple lesson.
If you want peas in winter, you pick and shell peas in summer.
Solomon knew it but not from the pea patch. He watched the ant. “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” (Proverbs 6:6–8)
All of tomorrows are purchased by what we do today.
Eternities are created a day at a time.
It has been said, “the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time is now.”
What are your “peas” that need attention today to make a better tomorrow. Don’t put off what today can do.
Robert G. Taylor
robertgtaylor.com
