One story, one soul…for God and his kingdom

“Pow! What a great shot!” Andrew said 

“You bet! That ball almost made it into the net!

The two men were watching a soccer match on the TV

“You know what? Soda and chips goes well with this game. Connor said as he got up and went to the fridge.

“I hope I didn’t miss much” Connor said to his friend as he hands him a soda can

“Nah, it’s almost half time.”

The screen changed to intermissions and advert shortly 

“So tell me, when do you get grapes from your garden”

“Ehh..” Connor shakes his head “In a couple of months.”

“Ever thought of turning some of those grapes of yours into wine?” Andrew asked 

“Funny you should ask that. You know, viticulture runs in my family.”

“Hmm.. I didn’t know that”

“My..uhh..great grandparents had vineyards back in Italy before things took a different turn and the family migrated. A few people in the extended family still do viniculture. One of my uncles down in California has a wine factory but not for me, I still love my grapes though”. He finished with a smile

“I see,” Andrew replied. “So, tell me , if you were to make wine out of your grapes, what’s it gonna take?”

“Well, as with every investment, a lot of time and energy. A few interesting things though, in the first few years, say three years the grapes are not used for wine, then in the fourth year, the first harvest is made, might not be much depending on how well the vineyard does. Then, the grapes are carefully destemmed, washed, crushed and pressed to get out the juice. Then, the juice is collected and fermented.

Andrew sat quietly listening. Connor continued

“The next step is aging, the juice is aged in a barrel for about two years, then it is bottled. So in all, it takes about…say…eight years to make your first bottle of wine. And to start making good profit, you are probably looking at twelve to fifteen years maybe.”

“That is wow!” Andrew said 

“Yes! Wow is the word!” Connor replied, “To go from grape to wine is not that easy.”

…what the Lord is working within us, for us, it might not happen with the flip of a switch. It might take time, patience and endurance, it might not be that easy on us…