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We are a generation that LOVES instant EVERYTHING with MINIMAL effort. We love to get our Mickey D's in 90 seconds or less from the Dollar Menu, microwave our Easy Mac (just add water!), shed pounds instantly with a new miracle drug, and get our hands on the latest car with instant credit and no down payment. Things you once had to work for now come instantly. Mac and cheese used to take 12 minutes on the stove, now 120 seconds in the microwave! Weight loss used to take a week to lose a pound, now with the right combination of pills and shakes you can lose it - instantly!

What happens when we apply our "instant with minimal effort" thinking to church, fellowship and friendship? Well... you visit the Bridge once, arrive promptly at 6:10, seat yourself with a friendly looking crowd, introduce yourself, and PRESTO. Suddenly your life is filled with 6 to 8 instant best friends and possibly even your soul mate. Happens every week, right? Not quite. And about myspace... From "Thanks for the Add!" through an exchange of messages and comments for a week and now you have a new best friend?! I'm not quite sure that's the case.

Truth is some of these instants may only last that long and really aren't that great after all. Your instant credit and car can both go up in smoke if you don't show someone the money. Those pounds lost instantly sans diet and exercise, may be a mirage and may resurface with twice as much prominence. Instant friendships, so fake and flimsy, that at the first thought of hardship or trial, fall apart. So if the instant is a fake that fades, what can be done to get something real and lasting that endures forever?

God has a lot to say about our "instant" everything. He has a law, an eternal truth. It's called the law of planting and harvesting... in short, what you plant, you will harvest. Galatians 6:7 says, "Don't be misled- you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant." So plant nothing, harvest nothing. Plant a lot, harvest just as much. A few things to remember about planting and harvesting, it takes work and time - it's not a press of the Easy button. There is a preparation of the ground, actually planting seed, making sure it gets sunshine and watering to provide nourishment. Then there is always a waiting between planting and harvesting when what is planted needs time to grow!

For those with a black thumb, this applies to so much more than your garden, like your words, your money and your time. If you invest a lot of time and effort in your relationship with God, you will reap a rich harvest. Invest little effort in a friend, have a surfacy relationship. Invest a lot in a friend, delight yourself in a rich and deep friendship.

Truth is, planting and harvesting takes some work on our part, it's not instant. Beyond our effort and what we can add, we can't command anything to grow. 1 Corinthians 3:7 says that "It's not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow." We plant, water, and nurture, offering our efforts to the One who can bring the harvest. And He will. It takes effort on our part to invest in a friend and it takes time for the friendship to grow. Then there is a harvest - a real and lasting friendship that endures through trial and hardship, a God-given blessing. It's true in a marriage relationship as well, as 'Happily ever after' only comes after "I do" in Disney movies and fairy tales. To have your own 'happily ever after' you will have to plant, water, and wait... for God. It's His law, His truth. It may not be instant with minimal effort, but who wants Mickey D's from the Dollar Menu anyway...

Learn more about this author, Alayna (Endicott) Richard.
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