I recently came across a LinkedIn post from David Buckles, the former president of the Christian school my son attended, that has stayed with me.
He shared a message from a young man he first met in 2010, when he served as the unofficial chaplain of his son’s football team. He once gave the young man a Bible with a note inside, telling him he was proud of him and encouraging him to keep studying God’s Word.
More than 15 years later, the young man reached out to thank him. He still had the Bible, remembered the note, and wanted David to know that his encouragement had mattered.
Reflecting on the message, David wrote that sometimes we plant seeds and sometimes we water them. We do not always get to see the results. This time, he did.
What stayed with me was that distinction. Sometimes we plant a seed by seeing potential in someone and giving them an opportunity. Sometimes we water a seed someone else planted by coaching, encouraging, or challenging them. We may do both without realizing it—and we rarely know which moments a person will carry forward.
I understand why that young man kept the Bible and the note inside it.
In my desk, I have a file filled with notes, cards, and other reminders from leaders and mentors who have influenced me. Among them are notes from one of my earliest meetings with the leader who promoted me into my first general manager role in the transportation industry.
The lessons written on that piece of paper have long since become part of how I lead. I no longer need the notes to remember them.
But I will always keep that piece of paper.
It reminds me not only of what I learned, but of the person who took the time to teach me. What may have seemed like an ordinary conversation to him became part of the foundation of my career.
That is the thing about planting seeds: we rarely know which ones will take root or how long it will be before they begin to grow. Sometimes, we do not even recognize what is being planted in us until years later.
