Just Planting

“The LORD then said to him,

‘This is the land
which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
that I would give to their descendants.
I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over.’”

Deuteronomy 34:4

Imagine working very hard on a project but then at the end not being able to present it. How would you feel? That is what happened to Moses. Moses followed the instructions of the Lord and led the Israelites out of slavery from Egypt. He led them through the wilderness and to the Promised Land. However, before Moses’ death, God brought Moses to a high plain and showed him the Promised Land, the land for which they have traveled so long. But God gave Moses some shocking news: “I have let you see it, but you yourself will not cross over to it.” Some may speculate why that was the case. Did Moses do something wrong, etc. That is not the important thing here. Moses understood something that maybe we do not. Moses knew that this Promised Land did not belong to him or the Israelites. The land has always been a gift from God. These were God’s People. Moses was only an instrument, a trusted instrument that God chose to use to communicate His love and mercy. And so, Moses did not question or bargain with God about this decision. He knew it was part of God’s plan. Sometimes what we have been asked to do is only to prepare for something but not really see it to its completion.

We are asked to plant seeds. Sometimes these seeds take a long time to sprout and grow. Those who have planted them may never see its growth. Think about the trees. They must have taken a long time to grow. It is likely that those who planted them were never able to see them in their magnificence as we are able to today or were able to enjoy the shade that its leaves provide. But that didn’t stop them from planting the seed, watering it, fertilizing it, and caring for it. We have been asked to plant seeds and to tend to them. Whether or when it bears fruit is not up to us. I know it is difficult because we have a natural inclination to become attached to things and situations and peoples, but we must remember, “They are God’s.” God will take care of them and we can only do what we have been asked and are able to do.

Moses was asked to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, cross the Red Sea, go through the wilderness and to the Promised Land. That he did, and he did well. Moses was never to cross into the Promised Land, but that didn’t mean he failed or that his life was wasted because if Moses had not done what he was asked to do, Joshua would never have been able to lead them into the Promised Land. The result and the end is not the important thing; what is important is that we do each task well, because if each task is not done well, the result may never come.

St. Clare, who we remember today, I think lived that well. She fought very hard to maintain the Franciscan rule of life when others were trying to pressure her and her sisters to follow other rules of life, and she was devoted to the Blessed Sacrament. When a bunch of soldiers came to attack Assisi, St. Clare took the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament and brought it to a wall where the soldiers could see it. She prayed, “O Lord, protect these Sisters whom I cannot protect now” and she heard a voice saying “I will keep them always in My care.” Upon seeing this, the soldiers fled in fear without harming any one of those in Assisi. Like Moses, Clare knew that the Sisters were the Lord’s and that she had only been entrusted with the task of living with them, leading them, guiding them, but ultimately she knew that it was God who could save them.

Even if in your life right now, things do not seem to be as you had hoped, do not give up. The fruits, whatever they may be, are there, but whether we see them is up to God. Have faith that all that you do, not matter how little or trivial, is building up the Kingdom. And every little thing that you do glorifies God — even looking up and saying, “I don’t know what’s going on, Lord, but I trust in You.”