Chinese Proverbs . . . .

Chinese proverbs are rather common and often contain stories behind them. Such is the proverb "pulling up a crop to assist it to grow" is about an impatient man in the Song Dynasty. He was super eager to see his rice seedlings grow fast. So he thought of a solution. He would pull up each plant a few inches. After a day or so of tedious work, the man checked his fields. He as pleased that his crop appeared to have "grown" taller. The very next day, the plants had begun to wither because their roots were no longer planted deep.

As each of us labor faithfully, we wait patiently on the Lord, who makes things grow.