How To Be An Influence

I recently heard the phrase, "Tapping the rudder," used to describe the means of which you slowly turn a huge vessel so that it moves in a new direction. This phrase often bothers me, not because it isn't true, but because I realize that the process is slow. When I feel a change is needed, I'm all about "repentance" which means to change the way you think... immediately.

A friend of mine reminded me, today, that I am a seed. I had posted the following illustration on Facebook:

She reminded me that I have already had a living, breathing example of this happening in my own life:

When we first moved to Abu Peak Ranch, this tree was a tiny plant, not unlike the one pictured above. Years went by. We didn't notice the work that was happening inside the rock. We only saw the tree as it grew. One day, years later, the roots of the tree had gone so deep that it broke the rock. The piece that fell off is visible in this picture.

This is how we influence. We let God plant us in the places He wants us. Then we grow. We allow him to water and feed us as we go "deep". We don't push and pull, we just grow. The slow and steady work, He does, causes the hardest of rocks to break... eventually.