Chapter 32
The Harvest
Joshua told Dharma about the final stage as they drove away from the farm. He had gone through the preparation stage, the planting stage, the growth stage, and was now in the fourth and final stage, the harvest stage, in which all your preparation, hard work, growth, and faith throughout the tests pay off. “This is the stage where you reap the harvest you have sown with your seed.
“During the harvest stage, your purpose becomes so clear you can say it in a simple sentence,” Joshua told her. It’s a time of great abundance. During the harvest, there is nothing you lack. You give, you give, and you give, and you are replenished. What you give comes back to you exponentially. You produce much fruit in the form of benefits to others and to the world, and in turn this fruit becomes a seed for others to plant.
“When you reach the harvest stage, you are able to look back and see how all the stages are connected. Your past prepares you to be planted. You plant yourself so you can grow. You grow so you can produce a harvest that will produce fruit. And your fruit produces seeds in others that change lives. The duration of the stages may be different for each person, but the cycle is the same. The cycle has a purpose. You plant yourself so that you can reap a harvest that will help others become all they are meant to be. The cycle then begins in others who are willing to plant themselves where they are so they in turn can produce a harvest for others. Joshua was the farmer’s harvest, and the people he impacted would be his harvest.
His dream now made perfect sense. He was living the system designed for his growth and the growth of others. The dream was telling him that as long as you have a seed in your hand and heart, you have the power to create a harvest. Yet for the harvest to happen, you must sow your seed. You must plant yourself, because unless the seed dies and goes into the ground it can’t bring forth fruit. You must do the work, and when you do, your small purpose will grow into your bigger purpose and you will be given a bigger field to grow to produce a bigger harvest.
He looked at his past and saw a vision for his future and knew that his preparation, planting, growth and the harvest he produced weren’t just for his benefit. The harvest he produced was for all the people who would benefit from the fruit of his gifts, talents, work, and life.
Joshua thought of the two job offers from his CEO. He still wasn’t sure which offer he would take. Both opportunities would allow him to make a difference in the lives of others. Both jobs would provide a bigger field for him to continue to grow and produce more fruit. Both jobs would allow him to live and share his bigger purpose. He wasn’t going to rush into a decision. He would patiently wait and look for the signs that would help him make the right decision. There was a path set for him, and he knew he just had to follow the signs and make the decisions that kept him on the path.
As he drove along the open highway, he looked up for a brief second and promised that whichever job he took, he would continue planting his seed: to grow himself to be a bigger benefit to others, to produce a bigger harvest for the world, and to plant more seeds in others. Just because he was in the harvest stage didn’t mean he was finished growing. More growth would mean more fruit and more seeds to plant. Like Paul, he would be a seed giver. He would hand seeds to people and encourage them to find their purpose. Joshua turned up the radio to listen to one of Dharma’s favorite songs, and she barked her approval. He turned to Dharma. “So, what do you think, girl? Which job offer should I take?” Dharma perked up. She knew the answer and wanted to tell him but couldn’t. After all, there are things in life that humans have to figure out for themselves.
The End!
Life is about you. If it weren’t about you, you wouldn’t be here.
You are not an accident.
You are here for a reason.
You have a destiny.
You have a purpose.
You have gifts and talents.
You do things that only you can do in the way you do them.
You and only you can leave your mark on the world.
Life is about more than you. It’s about knowing you were made for relationships:
To love
To mentor
To learn
To serve
To create
To work together
To change for the better
It’s about living for more than you.
For a bigger purpose.
For a greater cause.
For those who will become your legacy.
It’s about you knowing you are part of something much bigger than you.
You live in a universe.
Uni-verse means “one song.”
Songs don’t happen by accident.
Songs are created by organizing notes into arrangements and patterns.
And so there is a Creator of the one song.
You are an expression of the Creator.
You are a note in the greatest of symphonies.
It’s about you!
It’s about you contributing to the one song.
It’s about you playing your part to the best of your ability.
It’s about you lifting others up.
It’s about you living the purpose God created you for.
It’s about you, the Creator, and the song becoming one.
Life is about you, and what you do is up to you.