A HANDFUL OF PEANUTS

2 Corinthians 9:6 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

Amedeo Obici was born in 1876 in a small village near Venice, Italy. His widowed mother read him letters from his uncle in America, and Amedeo told everyone he was going to America one day. Everyone knew he was an exceptionally bright and enterprising child. By the time he was 11 years old, his family had helped him save enough money for an immigrant's ticket to America, and he set sail by himself.

One story says Amedeo had no money for food, so his mother gave him a bag of peanuts which was all he had to eat for the 10 day trip across the ocean. In this land of opportunity, Amedeo, at 11 years of age, went to work as a bellhop and a helper at a fruit stand. He worked hard and saved his money as he had promised his mother.

Amedeo soon learned that Americans liked the peanuts he shared with them; but few, if any, were growing them here. So, he found a place to plant the handful of peanuts he had left. While his peanuts were growing, he saved enough money to buy a horse and wagon. When his peanut crop came in, he drove around calling himself "The Peanut Specialist" selling roasted peanuts. By 1906 he had developed his own method of blanching and roasting peanuts and founded Planters Peanuts headquartered in Suffolk, VA. He became
wealthy enough to send money to his family in Italy; and, years later, he gave to the city of Suffolk the Louise Obici Hospital named after his wife.

Now, Amedeo had only a handful of peanuts; but he had the choice of what he could do with them. He could have eaten them or sold them, but he wisely chose to plant what he had so that, in time, he would have enough to eat, give away, and sell to send money to his family. I don't know if Amedeo knew about the Law of the Harvest in the Bible, but he certainly practiced it.

I’m sure that we all would like to see great harvests take place in our lives. It may be financial. It may be spiritual. It may be emotional. But whatever abundance that we are longing for will begin by a period of sowing. Our scripture says it best, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” Does that mean that I have something to do with how much I can be blessed? Absolutely. Why? Because I have something to do with how much I sow.

You see, we all are given a certain level of resource or seed. From there we choose what to do with it. We can eat it and enjoy its benefits immediately. We can hide it away so as to never lose it. Or we can plant it and then reap the harvest of our growing seed.

God keeps his promises. The Law of the Harvest is absolute. We should be encouraged today to trust and be patient as we faithfully wait for harvest time. Don’t allow discouragement to cause you to foolishly use your seed. Trust God, be faithful, and sow the seed he has given you. In due time, you will reap what you have sown.