I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Reap what you sow,” or maybe someone has referred to it as “Karma.” No matter how you define it or what word you use, they mean basically the same. However, do you believe it is true?
Origins And Meaning Of “Reap What You Sow”
Where exactly did the saying, “Reap what you sow” begin? If you look in the King James version of the Bible, you will find the words of Jesus Christ in Galatians, Chapter 6, verses 7-9 as follows:
7: Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8: For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
In regular English those verses mean:
- Everything you do has a consequence from which there is no escape.
- All your actions and choices will “come back to haunt you” some day.
- In the future, you will see the outcome of the choices you make today.
- What you do now determines what you will be able to do tomorrow.
- For every action there is a reaction.
Do you believe it? Do you believe that what you do today has a consequence that will determine your opportunities and life in the future? Do you believe that you reap what you sow?
Make The Reaping And Sowing Personal
A farmer prepares his land, plants good seeds, fertilizes, waters and hopes that the wheat will grow. If everything goes according to plan and he is steadfast in the care of his crop, he is able to sit atop the combine harvester with a smile on his face.
Do you think the farmer is reaping what he sowed?
I only partially believe that the farmer is reaping what he sowed.
It is true that he did all the “right” things so that he could have a successful wheat crop. However, at any time, by no fault of his own, catastrophic weather could have destroyed his entire crop. If that happened, the farmer would not be reaping what he sowed, right?
I know I’m splitting hairs, but that answer could be both yes and no.
No, it is not the farmer’s fault that weather destroyed his crop, so he isn’t reaping what he sowed, both figuratively and literally.
On the other hand, the farmer at some point decided to be a farmer. Whether he knew all the risks of farming wheat is irrelevant. The fact remains that the farmer chose to be a farmer. Since The farmer picked farming as his profession, he has to suffer the consequences of having that as his job.
In a way, it sounds like the farmer is going to damned no matter which way you look at it. Is that really how the whole reaping and sowing thing works?
Reaping Consequences And Sowing Anyway
Did I ever tell you that I almost didn’t have a child of my own? There almost wasn’t an Alyssa. I had dreamed and planned on being a mother from the time I was four years old. After many, many years of trying, I had just about decided that I would give up my hope to have a child when I did finally get pregnant.
During all those moments that I was without hope, I thought of all the reasons that it would be good to be without a child.
- I would be unencumbered from responsibilities.
- I wouldn’t have to wake up in the middle of the night for a crying, hungry or sick child.
- Less mess, laundry and expenses.
- No worrying about the child’s safety or happiness.
- I wouldn’t have to go through empty nest syndrome when we got older.
Not sowing and reaping motherhood started to sound pretty good, but that wasn’t going to be my life.
I got pregnant and have spent the last nineteen years experiencing motherhood. I have sowed and reaped happiness, worry, anxiety and a million other emotions a million times. The time is fast approaching, however, when seeing Alyssa every day will end.
I don’t want it to end.
I don’t know how to let go.
It wasn’t that long ago that I almost completely lost Alyssa and I am still struggling with the effects of that stalled moment in time. In less than a year, Alyssa has decided to start sowing and reaping on her own…far away.
Growing up and moving – yes. Growing up and moving very far away – no. That’s not how we planned it.
I like to be close in proximity to family. I always admired other cultures who live close, take care of each other and honor their elders. This whole motherhood sowing and reaping thing is taking a twist that I didn’t expect.
You may be thinking, “The Redhead Riter is being selfish.” I’m human and I can’t hardly bear the thought of Alyssa making her home so far away that I rarely will be able to see her. So yeah, if that’s selfish, then I haven’t been selfish for nineteen years and now I’m selfish.
You are not being selfish sweetie! She is not ready to leave home. She has no money, no goals and no real plans. Plus she has no idea what she is up against. She may be 19 but going on 14 in some ways. I am 68 and you are 49, and I do not want to be away from you. It is breaking your moms heart that she is going so far. I do not have too long left and she is sunshine in my life. I cannot bear the thought of life every day with her not near.
Thanks, Mom.
Reaping what you have sown. Such a powerful, thought-provoking subject. Yes, it is so true that sometimes actions lead directly to predictable consequences. However, it is also true that unexpected outside forces can completely alter the planned results. People often console themselves by saying that everything happens for a reason, or everything happens according to plan. That doesn’t mean that you might not be unhappy with the results, but you can make them the start of a new set of actions.
A sailor plots a course from one harbor to another, but wind, tide, or unexpected obstacles can completely alter that course. Sometimes a new course is plotted to compensate for these alterations to get back on course for the original destination. Other times, through no fault of navigation or sail-handling, that original destination becomes unreachable, yet the unplanned new course leads to an undiscovered port, or an unknown island. Do you drop anchor and settle in the new port, or explore the island? Or do you employ dead reckoning and the other skills of navigator and sailor, and set out on a new course, either another try for your original destination, or taking advantage of prevailing winds and favorable tides, trusting in your abilities to maintain this new course wherever it may lead?
That’s a wonderful analogy. Thank you so much for sharing.
Selfish? Sure. We all do things and want things for ourself. Is that bad? Not if that desire or those actions aren’t at the expense of others. Not if they don’t fail to take others into consideration. Who could possibly fault you for not being happy with that particular twist?
Thanks Skip.
I sobbed my heart out when I put my daughter on the school bus to head to kindergarten the first time. So you have my complete sympathy. I can’t imagine what I’ll do when she heads to college. If it’s far away, I’ll probably have to move to be closer! You think I should tell her? Nope, think I’ll just do the stalking thing. 😉
LOL Caron! No, don’t tell her! 😀
{{{hugs}}} I’ve recently come to realize that I have to let someone go who I’d been holding onto much too tightly. There was more pain in that struggle to hold on than there is now that I’ve turned them loose into God’s capable hands. Will be praying for peace in your life.
Thank you, Kristi. I’m sorry you’ve had to go through that experience. {{{hugssss}}}