Is it Worth it?

So my friends are arriving from England later today. They have probably never seen a hummingbird before...the weather in the British Isles is just not warm enough for these tiny birds to survive. So I have some assessing to do...in order to put my hummingbird feeder up, I firstly have to find it, amongst all the junk in my garage. Then I have to clean it. Then I will have to search on Google to find out how to make the nectar. Next I will have to make the nectar and let it cool in the refrigerator. When that is done and I am finally ready to fill the feeder, I will have to drag the ladder out of the garage and climb it in order to hang the feeder in my front window, because I cannot reach the hook. And so I ask myself...is it worth it? Such a lot of effort for such a little bird. But my friends from England have probably never seen one, and they are good friends. So I somewhat reluctantly begin to look for my feeder.
About one hour later, I am sitting in my front room with my eyes on that swinging feeder and I am waiting....waiting because I tell myself that if I catch sight of just one of those little hummingbirds, then it will all have been worth it. And I so want to tell you that this is what happened. I want to write that all my efforts were rewarded as I witnessed one of those fascinating little fellows feeding from the nectar I so lovingly made. But I can't write that, because that never happened. After all that effort, I never did see a hummingbird coming to my feeder. But suppose one came when I wasn't looking...would it have been worth it then?
In our children's ministry, we are busy preparing for a new season. We pray, we plan, we organize, we recruit, we lead, we encourage, we teach....and despite our best efforts, we may never see that one little child who comes to Christ. Such a lot of effort for such a little child. And so I ask myself...is it worth it? And the answer is... yes.