"For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?"
— Luke 14:28
The snow was piling up against the shed door, but inside the kitchen, the table was covered in bright green and yellow seed catalogs.
"Look at this one, Dad!" Eli pointed to a picture of a giant, purple carrot.
Mara shook her head. "We have to check the inventory first, Eli. We can't buy everything." She opened her seed box and began counting the packets they saved from the Fall. "We have plenty of beans and enough squash. But we are low on onions. And we need to move the tomatoes to the other side of the garden this year."
Her father smiled as he watched her work. "That's the **Steward's Vision**, Mara. You're dreaming with your eyes open. You're seeing the harvest of next July while the ground is still frozen in January. That is what it means to be established in wisdom."
Dreaming with Discipline
In the Skills stage, we learn that winter is the season of Strategy. A Sower's mind is always one season ahead. We look at our seed catalogs not just to see what is "pretty," but to see what is "needed." We manage our budget, we check our inventory, and we make a plan. Planning is how we show God that we are serious about the work He has given us.
The Steward's Map
A plan is a Covenant with the future. It says: "I will be ready when the sun returns!"
The Seed Audit
Before we buy new seeds, we must respect the ones we already have. We perform a "Seed Audit." We check the dates on our packets. We test a few seeds to see if they are still "Powerful" enough to sprout. We organize our box like a library, so we know exactly what is in our storehouse. A tidy sower is a ready sower.
Mapping the Resurrection
When you draw your garden map for next year, you are participating in the miracle of the Resurrection. You are drawing life where there is currently only dirt and snow. You are deciding where the sunflowers will stand and where the berries will grow. Your charcoal and paper are the first signs of Spring. You are an Architect of Hope!