Just Plantin’ Seeds

I can still recall words from a great woman and mentor, Pat Finch, which I often refused to heed – knowing as the wise 19 year old I was at the time that I knew better than she… (That, dear readers, was sarcasm if you missed it.) But she was right. Although I went my own way, the seeds which she helped plant in my heart, combined with God’s great ability as the vinedresser, still bear fruit today.
Romans 8:28 is one of my favorite verses. Mostly because the outcome from so many of my own doings still turned out okay – even great at times – and NOT by my doing! It rings true in this instance as well.

Now, on the flip side of life, I find myself being the one compelled with the need to give advice. After all, it states in Titus 2 that the older women are to teach the younger ones, right? However, on this flip side I am also experiencing what I “dished out” as a younger woman – patronizing disrespect, disdain, scorn, condescension, even insult. Thank God for the women He placed in my life who had so much patience and love for me, who saw the God-given potential in my personality and character enough to press on and continue to plant seeds in my life even when they faced my know-it-all, haughty, arrogant, proud self!

{{{ shudder }}} 😜

You see I realized, I too am merely planting seeds. It is not up to me to decide if the ground is that of the wayside, which gets trampled down or devoured by the birds of the air. Or if it is spread out over rock, which springs up and withers away because it lacks moisture. Or among thorns, which choke it. Or if on good ground which springs up and yields a crop of a hundredfold. (Luke 8:5-8) It is up to those receiving the seeds to hear, receive, and apply. Whether I share my wisdom and experience with the hard-, shallow-, crowded-, or soft-hearted, I simply plant seeds. Our heavenly Gardener is the One who cares for them and causes them to grow, bloom, and bear fruit.

I’ve often wondered why our human race feels the need to repeat mistakes from history. Why we don’t heed to the experience of others and save ourselves the trouble of learning the hard way. Understanding, however, that there is something to be gained for us going through the miry clay. So in an attempt to spare our loved ones, those of us who have trudged through the thick mud of adversity, pain, disappointment, sorrow, and loss, we share our testimonies… our seeds. In hopes someday – mixed with God’s miraculous vine dressing – they might… just might, bear fruit.