In the spring I was surprised to see an orange flower coming up through the rich brown dirt in a planter on my Tokyo patio.  I almost pulled it up, mistaking it for a weed. But then I remembered that I had planted the seeds from the cosmos flowers the previous autumn. In this case, it meant I stuck the dried, dead flowers in the ground haphazardly, wondering if just maybe something would come of them.  

It reminded me of our mission work in Japan.  God commissions us to diligently plant seeds. We smile at our neighbor and try to start a conversation about the weather. Seed planted. We tell a non-Christian friend we are praying for them and that the God of the Bible cares and answers prayer.  Seed planted. We study the Bible regularly with someone who seems to be more interested in friendship with us than friendship with God. Seed planted. Unlike my absent minded, wilted flower scattering, these gospel seeds are planted carefully and purposely, and even sometimes with back-breaking pain. 

Japan is a hard field to toil in. Building trust and trying to connect can take years of tilling the soil. Helping a Japanese person understand who God is takes patient tending. We often don't see the brilliant orange flowers that the harvest promises. It is easy to loose heart and we are tempted to wonder if our farming will ever have a produce. But then we are reminded, by little green shoots pushing through the earth,  that we are called to continue to plant and water, plant and water, and then....plant and water some more. We know that if we continue on faithfully, we can trust the only One who gives growth and we will someday see an abundant harvest.