How Much Patience Do You Have ? Great Life Lesson

This is a story of patience and hard work with a very beneficial lesson at the end. It begins with planting a seed and with the vision of someone willing to wait.

A poor farmer one day planted a Chinese bamboo seed into the soil expecting that the tree would one day grow about 90 feet high and provide him and his family with a good life.

With this hope and vision the farmer planted all the seeds in the soil, watered them every single day and nurtured them during the day and prayed to God during the night to make his dream come true as he was willing to give his 100% to it. As it is human nature to want to see the results of their hard work the poor farmer used to inspect the seeds every day to check if they were germinating, but there was no change that he could see in the field.

The farmer continued to nurture the seeds day after day and pray to God, and yet nothing happened. A whole year passed by and there was no sign of outward growth.

The farmer thought to himself that the other small crops that he had planted sprouted within weeks providing nourishment for his family within months, but provide nothing for the future. He knew that the other crops would not make his dreams come true – They would simply provide for the present, while the bamboo tree would make his dream come true, but with this bamboo tree his hopes and dreams seemed very far away. He began to think “Has the seed rotted?” “Has the seed died before it had a chance to grow?”

Another year went by and the other farmers and villagers started to mock at him for wasting years on the useless bamboo tree. They thought he was just wasting his time on them. The farmer thought to himself “Is he really putting his efforts on something which would never reap rewards for him?” Another year went by and no sign of the sprouts yet.

Seasons went in and out, but the farmer continued to care for the plants with the hope of a miracle to happen. Four years passed by and the farmer didn’t see a thing on the land. It was like the farmer had little hope left, but he still used to nurture the seeds with little expectation of rewards. Although the poor farmer’s expectations became low with time, his faith in God was intact. He knew God would not let his hard work go waste. The farmer got tired of nurturing the seeds which showed no sign of growth and was tired of growing and tending so many other small crops to feed his poor family.

About five years passed by and the farmer thought maybe he must have watered the seeds wrong, maybe he had not fed them correctly and had lost all his hopes and had almost given up his dreams. He was frustrated and tired.

And then after 5 years, there came one morning when the whole village was jolted awake by the cries of joy from the farmer. Everybody came out of their houses to see why this crazy farmer was so excited.

When they reached the farmer’s field they were all astonished to see many green sprouts thrusting out from the barren ground. They seem to be growing before their very eyes. The famer’s joy knew no bounds. All the hard work seemed to be paid off on the sixth year.

The field became the place for everyone in the village to come and watch in astonishment as the bamboo trees grew, and grew, and grew…. 5 feet… 10 feet… 20 feet… 50 feet… 70 feet…. 80 feet… and 90 feet in just 6 weeks. They were all shaken with amazement to witness the growth of a whole field of 90 feet tall bamboo trees in just 6 weeks. 5 long years of nothing and now this… huh! That was truly like a miracle.

The farmer was so happy that the harvest of the bamboo would provide not just for his family but also for generations to come. He thanked God abundantly.

He also realized the lessons he learned were far more valuable.

He learned to plant a dream and nurture it every single day to make it a reality.

He learned to ignore those who said it couldn’t happen

He learned to push past his own fears and doubts and keep taking action

Most important lesson he learned was to have unwavering faith and trust in God. The belief that God never ever lets anybody’s hard work go unrewarded made him continue to water the barren land.

The farmer set an example in the whole village and everybody in the village started growing bamboo trees in their fields and have patience while they nurtured it every single day.

What about you ? What are you willing to do to make your dreams come true ? How long are you willing to work ? And how much faith and trust do you have in God ?

God doesn’t change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves [Qur’an: 13:11]

Feel free to share other moral of the story if you can think of any in the comment section below