Part 2- Space for Seed

In Part 1, we talked about picking up fallen trees and realizing that opportunities to serve others are all around us, though easily ignored. This week I want to move along with the assumption that we’ve decided in our hearts to do better. We’ve started working on clearing a path for a new harvest, we want to see God move so we’re providing space for that in our lives and expecting big things from Him. 

Let’s look at this next passage in Ecclesiastes 11 as we continue this series. 

Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.
If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. (vs4)

We decided last week that now is as good a time as any. We have to start and we must start now. Our hands are ready. We are now farmers ready to plant. The next step may require the most of you, but I pray you continue on this path. 

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind 
or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, 
so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.(vs5)

So much of our Christian faith is discerning the voice of God. Just yesterday, my friends and I were at a local park and sprayground when a young man walked up to us without an adult. We didn’t know where he came from and we decided to just assume he lived close by. He was a little apprehensive but once I asked him, “are you from around here?” He promptly told me that his great-grandmother lived nearby and she knew where he was. So he splashed around with our kiddos and then he asked my friend for an orange as he saw us picnicking. After he had the orange, he sort of kept hanging around our cooler and you could tell, he wanted more. My friend told him “why don’t you take a break from playing and go home for lunch, buddy?” and he did. 

We were a little torn in that moment because on the one hand, I could hear Jesus saying “feed my people” and on the other hand you hear the voice that says “don’t feed someone else’s kid because you never know what they’re allergic to!” It’s hard, isn’t it? Should we have let him join us for our little picnic at the park? I sure wanted to! I just didn’t know if it was the right thing. Did we miss out on an opportunity to share Jesus with this little man by not letting him feast with us? 

Later on, he came back as we were playing on the playground. With a fresh set of clothes on, he ran over to play with us once more. We found out his name was Ryan and he lived down the street. My friend talked to him about the town she was from and we talked about school mascots and other random things. He played on the swings with our girls and then we had to leave. 

I thought about Ryan for a long time after we left the splash pad and I wrestled with God saying it seemed like you put Him on our path, but what for? Then I thought maybe he’ll be there next time I bring my daughter and I can continue to develop that relationship. Maybe this is just the beginning! Talking to Ryan and getting to know him was I think more important than the orange we let him have. Maybe the seed is sown first and foremost by letting the person know I see you. I think Ryan felt that. I hope something comes of that in the future. 

Before you can plant any seed- you’ve got to dig the hole. So much of the work that we need to do on this earth is not throwing seed onto soil. Yet, that’s what has been taught to us as children, isn’t it? “Sow the seed and God will do the rest!” That’s what I grew up hearing. If my tiny evangelical self decided to try and invite a friend to church or talk to them about Jesus but was rejected, my Momma would say “you’ve planted the seed and that’s what matters.” I argue that I might have skipped a step. I didn’t dig the hole first. I didn’t make room for that seed to sink in. 

God calls us to different types of digging. All are important. 

Digging Intentionally

So many of the encounters we have throughout our day are surface. Yet, each individual is a part of the harvest that God is wanting to grow. Are we being intentional in our relationships with one another? Are we saying “hi, how are you?” just expecting or even hoping for a vague response? Are we prepared to sit in a church row or on a park bench for hours to let them unravel their burdens? Imagine if believers were so intentional in day to day interactions, how much more would an outsider be willing to receive the gospel when spoken? As it stands, most relationships are so superficial that when we say “I’m going to pray for you” or send a scripture through text, it comes across as insincere or judgmental because it shocks the recipient. I get this image of someone throwing birdseed at a wedding. If you’ve ever been on the other end of that, trust me, it’s not pleasant. I followed someone out to their car after a wedding one time as the bird seed was pelted at them. I got a mouthful and a headache from it! Perhaps this is what it feels like when we go around tossing seed without digging around a little. Do the grunt work. Dig in and get to know their hearts. Be intentional with every step God calls you to take, every conversation He grants you, and every heart He sends you to hold. 


Digging Inwardly

Just as we can’t wait for things to be perfect before we reach out, we can’t wait for the perfect time to reach in. It’s within the imperfect moments of our lives that the Bible is most applicable, most needed, and most transforming. I can think of countless times in my relationships that I begged God to change things in someone else only to find that the work He was planning on doing started with me! If God had a shovel to your heart right now, would he easily break ground or would He need to rent a jack hammer? I’ll confess, sometimes, the ground of my heart has been hardened to even the slightest change. Sooner or later though, rains come and the ground softens because I realize that I cannot have seeds planted within me until I first have allowed myself to dig deep and find places for those seeds. Places where my thinking may be flawed, where my heart may be calloused, or where my perspective may be shallow. Ask yourself, Am I an impressionable person? Who do you leave the most room for? The world, or the word? God is calling us to dig inwardly, to search our hearts, and to break ground so that His Holy Spirit can guide us in our serving of one another. 

Digging Intimately

I believe God is calling the people of the church to be spiritually intimate with one another. In a world full of filters, we are called to love and nurture flaws. We may not have this type of relationship with everyone, but we should have it with some. I think about the relationships that God’s people held with one another in the bible. 

• Paul and Timothy- Communication and Encouragement 
• Ruth and Naomi- Generosity and Self Sacrifice
• David and Jonathan- Commitment and Grace
• Jesus and Peter- Forgiveness, Patience, Acceptance, and Loyalty
• Moses and Aaron- Advocates and Partners in Ministry, Supported one another 

Which of these attributes describe your relationships with your friends or the people you know in the church or elsewhere? If it’s one or two, maybe it’s time to let that wall down. Maybe it’s time to post an “OPEN” sign on your gate. Do people know that you love them? How do you show that? Do people know that you trust them or do you push them aside and walk with a “do it yourself” attitude? Think about this: in sharing and bearing our burdens with people we trust, we are preparing ourselves for ministry with people we don’t yet know. 

With Ryan, we made the choice to dig intentionally. That’s all. Just one choice. I believe it made all the difference. That young man came back for more. Isn’t that what we want for God’s people? To feel cared for enough to come back for more? We need space for the seeds that were so eager to throw out. Let’s get our shovels out and start digging, so that when God gives us the seed of His word, and the rains of His Holy Spirit, a harvest can one day be reaped. 

Pray

What a blessing it is to be a laborer in Your field. Lord, help me to see the ground that needs breaking, the hearts that need holding, and let me be ready when the rains come. Remind me that it’s not just about getting people to listen to me. It’s all about getting them to the point where they can feel your love. Let me be an impressionable person, guided by Your Word and moved by Your Spirit alone. Thank you for every opportunity you place in front of me to serve Your people. 

Reflect

1. Think of a time when you’ve dug intentionally and how did that benefit you and the person you were intentional with?
2. Do you have many  intimate relationships in your life outside of family? Why or why not? 
3. Are you an impressionable person? What leaves the biggest impression on you? How does the world leave an impression on you and does that benefit or hinder your relationship with Jesus? 
4. Read through Mark 4- The Parable Of the Sower and write down where you think you are in the story. What type of digging needs to be done in your life? How can you start? 

Do Something 

I think this is pretty simple. Find one way this week that you can start to 

• Dig Intentionally
• Dig Intimately
• Dig Inwardly

Go back through the reading and paraphrase what those things mean so that you can be mindful of them while you’re going about your daily life. Keep the shovel in hand at all times! 

Further Reading


Paul- (There’s a guy who had to do some digging first. Completely had to realign his thinking in order to follow Christ.) “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” ‭‭1 Corinthians ‭3:6-9‬ ‭NIV‬

Re-read through the life of Paul and see how God called him to all three types of digging (three I’s) 


Listen

The Harvester- Brandon Heath 

Part 1- Waiting for Clear Skies

When the clouds are heavy, the rains come down.

Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls

Ecclesiastes 11:3 

Last week we had some thunderstorms pass through our county. Heavy rains, hail, and damaging winds. Power lines, telephone wires, trees, and debris covered the town of Kerrville. One of my friends had a tree uproot and it fell onto the carport of their home. The storm left some without power, many without AC, and a heaping mess to clean up. I had an ongoing group text happening with some of my friends and they were getting frantic without internet access, not knowing what was coming next. I’d read the text messages, sent up a few little prayers, and then I rolled over and went to bed. 

It never even occurred to me to help out. It never really crossed my mind until the threat of the storm had fully passed a few days later. I live outside the city limits, technically in another town. The winds were really bad, but it didn’t at all hit here as badly as it did in town.  What could I do, anyhow? I didn’t have a tree-trimmer. The power companies would eventually get these folks the help they were needing. The church has a disaster relief group already on top of it. I’m 25 minutes away with two kids and limited resources. I’ll wait until it’s all over and see who needs what. I was right- pretty soon things went back to normal. It took the help of neighbors, family, friends, and outsiders to clear out what came through in those few days. When I started seeing the stories of how people banded together and worked overtime to get the city back on its- I was overjoyed. Then I wasn’t. 

See, I had faith that God would provide a solution, but I never considered myself to be a part of it. Why didn’t I respond to those text messages with the information I had on my radar? Should I have offered my home as a place to stay in the heat of the day? Why didn’t I keep someone’s food in my refrigerator so it didn’t rot? Should we have lent someone our trailer to haul off the leaves and debris they were needing to dispose of? All of the sudden, I had lists upon lists of ways I could have helped- but it wasn’t at the right moment. The opportunity had passed. 

The trees that were slain by the storm stayed on the ground until someone came and picked them up.

I see parallels in the aftermath of this storm and the storm that’s running through our country right now. I see parallels of this in my own life. I’m fervently asking God to help me move into a new understanding of how to better prepare in the future. 

I don’t think people really neglect to help others because they’re heartless. I believe we are immobilized by our pursuit of comfort and safety. Friends, we should instead heed God’s words. Clouds are heavy around us all the time and the rains don’t come. Winds blow hard on days with blue skies. The human mind will never know all that God is doing in this world, but if we keep waiting idly by, we will miss out on the biggest blessing of all- being a blessing to His people. Andy Sochor explains it this way, “So these things which are out of our control must simply be dealt with. It is pointless to worry about them and wish we could change the current conditions. We simply need to deal with these conditions as they exist.”

In our communities and in our own families, trees are falling all around us and we’re letting them stay there. In some cases, the tree falls in someone else’s yard, or in another town, or by someone else’s hand and we exempt ourselves from helping out. But what about this? When I knock someone down or blow them over with the intensity of my emotions, words, or reactions- that person will stay in that state of pain or fear until someone comes to help them back up. If my power goes out because of an unexpected argument with a coworker or a fight with my spouse, I need someone to drive to my aid and power me up once more. Oftentimes, I’m not picking up the trees that I’ve blown over. I’m not changing the bulbs I’ve burnt out. So who is? Secretly,  I’m hoping for someone else to clean up the mess that I’ve made. 

Whether you’re the storm or not. Whether the tree is in your yard or someone else’s- it’s still within your means to help out. We get stuck in the faith that God will intervene without considering that we’re a part of that healing message. 

Your house might not be spotless when God calls you to invite over a neighbor . Your bank account won’t be nice and fat when God’s calling you to be generous. He works in our weaknesses. He calls us while we’re at work, playing with the kids at home, or shuffling back and forth from place to place. He calls us when we’re too comfy and we don’t want to get out of the house, or when we just got through a difficult time. It may look like chaos to me right now, but God is moving in the midst. I’m not supposed to know where the wind takes me, I’m supposed to trust the God who made the wind. 

Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.
If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.(vs4)

Next week, we’ll look at that verse more closely, but I pray we start with this: Yes, God is in control, yes God will send the rain when He wants and He’ll hold it back when He wants- but we are to be in the fields every day. Waiting for clear skies? No. Working and trusting His timing to be perfect. 

In my life, I feel God saying "where were you? I called you and you weren't there." It's time we step off the porch and get back into the fields. It'll be hot, it'll seem redundant, but I pray we whistle while we work, look to the skies for His signal, and ready ourselves for the harvest. 


Pray

Lord help us to be a people who trust in Your timing. Help us to be mindful of the trees that have fallen in our communities and within our own homes. Give us the strength to step outside our comfort and lend a hand, flip on a switch, or move some debris. You have sent your servants to do as much for us, so we only ask that You send your Holy Spirit to show us when it’s our turn. May we be ready with seed in hand for the harvest.  


Reflect

1. Think about a time when you were fallen. Perhaps someone or some situation knocked you down. Who did God send to pick you back up?

2. How have you been a strong wind or a heavy rain in someone else’s life? Have you prayed for God to help you make things right or are you waiting for clear skies?

3. When was the last time you felt God calling you to help someone? Did you answer that call? If so, how did it bless you? If not- how can God use you today?

4. Read this excerpt from the article “Wherever the Tree Falls” by Andy Sochor and answer the question below.

Even if the wind is not blowing as we would wish and even though there may be a chance of rain, work must be done. 

What are the things in your life that keep you from serving the Lord at the onset of His call? 

Do Something 

• Write down 5 immediate needs you know exist in your family or community. Pray over these needs and ask God to give you direction on how to help. In the following weeks, look back at those needs and check off one at a time as God prompts you to service.

• Write a letter to someone who has “turned your power back on” when a storm blew through in your life. Let them know what it meant to you. 

• Make a list of the things you wrote down for Reflective Question #4 and work on releasing control over those hindrances. 

Further Reading

John 4:35 Don’t you have a saying “It’s still four months until harvest?” I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They’re ripe for harvest! 

Luke 16:10 Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with very much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

Deuteronomy 15:11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.

Hebrews 6:10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

Proverbs 3:27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. 

Mark 10:17-31 Jesus’ Conversation with the Rich Man 

“Wherever the Tree Falls” by Andy Sochor 

Listen

Where You Go, I’ll Go- Brian and Jenn Johnson 

I Will Follow by Chris Tomlin 

Thoughts about Turning 32- What Was He Thinking?

The only time I ever came to truly hate an animal was when I walked through the front door of my apartment to find a VHS recording of my First Birthday ripped to shreds.

You would have thought that someone had died. For me, it absolutely felt that way. That video held a place in time that I could never get back. It held images of a single mother wearing stone-washed jeans, licking icing in the kitchen. It held laughter from family members past as I tried to climb atop a metal folding chair. It held the faces of my cousins, magnified by bubbles blown by Aunt Nancy. All that’s gone now. 

Since the very beginning, birthdays in my family were a BIG DEAL. We celebrated birthdays just as we celebrated Christmas or Easter. Everyone showed up, brought food, played dominoes, ate noodle salad, and stayed all day. You got so many “I love you”s and sloppy kisses from aunts, noogies from uncles, and you soon became the envy of all the cousins with your new toys. It was a day in which you realized how much of a gift you were to the world.

This spring, while sifting through some old boxes in a closet, I found a baby book my mom kept. On the cover was a blue ribbon font saying “Baby’s First Year”. In this book, I got a glimpse of each day of my life for the first 10 months. She wrote in it every.single.day. As I read through all the documented firsts and people that had come to visit- I thought back to that video my dogs destroyed. Seeing my mother with her 80’s perm and thin waistline. Full of hope and big dreams for the future! Then I thought about all the time she’d spend on a path she didn’t know she was taking. Moving back home with a newborn, working waitressing jobs, leaving me with various friends and relatives, and dealing with a divorce while trying to remain sane and sober.  

This week, as I was preparing to write this devotional, I flipped back through that baby book. I couldn't help but wonder What was God thinking? … No- not in the way that I question the value of my life or think my existence is meaningless. More in a way of earnestly asking God, show me what You were thinking because I want to get it right. What was He thinking when placing me in 1988? In letting my Mom struggle to put bows in my hair only to see me get grass stains on my jeans? In having me become an adult in the days of online everything and our phones becoming our lives? In giving my dad the headache of a kid who would take 8 years to finish college? In giving me to two people that wouldn’t end up staying together? What were You thinking?

And this is where I stopped.

-----------------------------------------

 I couldn’t really continue writing. Everything I wrote seemed to be this jumble of thoughts and I’d write paragraph after paragraph, then move it to the end of the page or delete it. So much of my questioning needed to get out, but it wasn’t meant for everyone. It was a deeply personal conversation between God and I. So, although I had millions of thoughts, I hit a major block. All this time I’ve been taught that on my birthday, I am to be celebrated as being a gift to the world. Yet, having read my baby book and knowing what I know about the first 10 months of my life- it didn’t seem like a gift. It seemed like bad timing. It seemed like a mistake. 

So I stepped back, shut down the computer, shifted my focus, prayed, and slept on it. Sooner or later, through all that processing, this is what came to understand. Even though I’ve been birthdaying it up for over 3 decades- I’m completely missing the point of my birth.  

The verse that comes to mind for every birth of a child is that we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made”  in His image, “knit together in our mother’s womb”. (Psalm 139:14) But birthdays aren’t just about the beginning of life. They go beyond that moment into the steps we take after. Beyond the knitting and into the sowing. 

His creation of me was not the end of me. I am not a rock. Even if I were- not all rocks stay put. Some drift off with a mudslide or river stream, some are taken home in the pockets of small children, and some are sent rolling down jagged mountain sides. There are moving forces at work every day of our lives.I am a living and breathing human being that makes decisions and mistakes and starts over and over, again and again every day.

All this Why am I here? What’s my purpose? It’s fruitless because it's still about ME. God has big plans but I’m getting too specific. We’re all here for the same reasons. We’re all here to do the same things. The way we do it may be different but that’s in our personality, our environment, and “who” God made us to be. Not “what” He brought us to do. God calls us all to the same cause. We may serve that cause in different locations and through varying vocations- but the cause should be the same. To live our lives for Him and to love others in service of Him.

At my birth, when my mom looked at me, I’m sure she thought, thank God I have you. It’s the same way I felt when I held my daughter in my arms for the first time. Yet, when I look at Cola today, I slowly start to unearth the truth that she’s not here for me. I’m going to leave this earth before her, God-willing, so her purpose can’t be solely for my enjoyment. She’s here for the same reasons I am. To better God’s kingdom and to advance God’s love to others. That is her purpose. That is what her life should be spent doing. 

It’s my birthday on Monday, I’ve been given another year- is this what I’m doing with my life?  How did I honor God with the year I was just given? How can I honor God best with this coming year? The only way I can do that is by first realizing that it's not about me. It’s never been about me. I was not put on this earth for my mother or my father. Nor for my children or husband. I’m here for God’s glory and whomever that benefits- all the more praise goes back up to Him! It’s a giant Web of Worship, when we serve one another, acknowledging both the gift that we are and all we have been given .

The gift my family gave me was to value myself and know that I’m delighted in. This is biblical. Your love for yourself and seeing yourself as a gift to the world, is true. “He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.”- Psalm 18:19 Still, everything I love about myself is of God. If I’m going to celebrate anyone- it’s my Creator. To know my purpose, to know myself, is to know Him more. The passion in my heart is no longer screaming I need to be recognized! It’s now, God be glorified! That would be the gift becoming the giver. A knitted child sowing back into the world. That’s what I’ve been missing!

What was He thinking when giving me to a soon to be single mother and father? I will be glorified through the union they shared. 

What was He thinking in putting me in a time where my mother would be at her lowest? She will be strengthened by her increased need for Me. 

Why create me knowing I'd have so many questions? To draw you nearer to Me. 

So many of us have questions about who we are, where we come from, and why we’re here. I pray that you can rest in the simplicity of the task. You are here to be loved and to love others. The moment we are born, God is moving us forward and drawing us nearer to Him. Live each moment, each day, each year for His name to be glorified:)

Pray   

Every breath that I draw is from Your chest. Every blessing I’ve been given is by your hand. Father, help me to give more than I receive. That which You’ve blessed me with, may it be multiplied and scattered throughout the remaining days of my life. May the generations that follow me know Your name because of my name. Thank You for my birth. Thank you for the time You’ve placed me in. Thank You for the heart You’ve given me and the path You’ve set me on. May You be glorified in all that I do. Amen. 

Reflect 

1. How have you celebrated your birthdays in the past and what does that say about how you value your life?

2. What has God given You that you may not yet be sharing with others? How can you begin to honor your birth and utilize His gifts in your life? 

3. What are some questions you have about your upbringing, your origin, or your path? Have you asked God these questions? Why or why not?

4. What makes someone’s life “well spent?” 

Do Something

• Perhaps you have a friend who’s birthday is coming up. Send a card to them and inside the card, list all the ways that you have seen God use them in your life and the lives of others.

• Write down all the days of the week. (Mon-Sun) Write down one thing you love about yourself for each day of the week. Thank God for each of these things during your week. He put them inside you for a reason! Ask Him to show you how best to utilize this part of yourself for His glory. 

Further Reading

• Read through the following verses as it pertains to your birth and God establishing your life on this earth. (My interpretation may not be yours. They are meant to encourage you to read these scriptures for yourself)

• Lamentations 3:22-23 I may have been placed the world, but I am not consumed by it. I belong to God every morning I wake up. I start fresh in Him every day.

• Psalm 91:11 and Joshua 1:9 Whatever I need in this life, God is ready and willing to help. 

• Numbers 6:24-26 God blesses me, keeps me, and shines His face toward me. He is excited that I am here! 

• Proverbs 9:11 He will add years to my life in order to bring glory to His name!

• Ephesians 2:10 We are a work in progress, but we have been made by the hands of a Master Craftsman who has a plan. 

• Psalm 90:12 Our days are numbered, and we are wise to ask God how best to spend them. 

Why Birthdays Should Be Celebrated: A Christian Perspective by Margaret Minnicks 

Listen

I Give You My Heart- Bethel Worship 

Teach Me to Know- The Lone Bellow