Planting the Seeds

Planting the Seeds

Today’s sermon was truly an inspiration. It gave me a lot of food for thought and I guess that’s what a good sermon is supposed to do. It made me realize that we may not see the immediate outcomes of our actions, but we can only make a difference in this world by planting the seeds. Granted, this we may already know, but we frequently need to be encouraged to act on what we already know  we are supposed to do. Pastor Barry stated:

“We may never see the Harvest of what we’ve planted. We may never see the fruits of our labors but if we don’t plant the seeds there won’t be a Harvest.  We’re simply called to sow and plant the seeds of faith, hope and encouragement.”

Sometimes the concepts of planting the seeds is never more evident than with both parents and teachers. Teachers may never realize the incredible impact they have on their students…the Harvest may never be realized or seen, but the impact is there. Yet, that does not mean teachers stop teaching, or parents set aside their concerns for their children just because they don’t see the “end result”. The impact of sowing the seeds of faith , hope and encouragement are there, whether the sower sees the fruits of their labor or not.

I think back to my years as a day care provider. I watched several children over the course of about a 10 year period. All the children had loving parents, including a little boy named Michael. I watched Michael for about 2 years at very important stages of his growth.  He was a little slow to walk but I encouraged him and he also shared the household with my other 3 rambunctious boys.  Michael was encouraged to walk just to keep up with the other guys! Michael was an only child and I think he really loved all the fun and attention he received at our house. He used to call out to me when building blocks or other projects that he wanted me to see: “Juuiee Watch! Juuiee!” He couldn’t quite pronounce his L’s yet, so I became Juuiee.  It was very endearing to me.   Last I heard, Michael was in high school and doing very well.  Time gets away from us and I have lost touch with the family, however I like to think I was a positive influence in Michael’s life.

We may never know the impact of our actions, either negative or positive, but sowing the seeds of encouragement improve the odds greatly for a bountiful Harvest.

Remember the might of the lowly mustard seed:

“God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed that a man plants in his field.  It is the smallest of all seeds. But when it grows, it is the largest of all garden plants. It becomes a tree big enough for the birds to come and make nests in its branches.” Matthew 13:31