As my mom prepared for her sabbath school duties, she called me and asked if I could take part with a specific portion. The topic being discussed was ‘reaping what you sow’. Don’t tell her that I really wanted to say ‘no’ but because she’s my mom and would do anything for me, I said ‘yes’.
As I sat in my backyard contemplating the topic and what to share, I looked around at my gardening attempts. This year I’ve been diligently planning and prepping: seedlings are growing on my kitchen countertop, all my pots are filled with flowers or strawberries or seeds of some kind. And for others, waiting until the right time (when it warms up a bit more) to go full throttle into what will go into the earth.
I started laughing to myself: would I plant watermelon seeds and expect a mango tree? (It would be absolutely amazing, but that’s not how it works). Would I plant cucumber seeds and expect to reap a harvest of grapes? Still not how it works.
As I continued to ponder, I realized that that often in life, we reap what we sow.
Later in the day, when a request was presented to me, my first inkling was to say ‘no.. it won’t work’.. but, as I thought of this person, I considered how often she hadn’t blinked and gone out of her way to help me. So instead of a ‘no’.. I thought of the other ways that I could make it possible.. And when I recruited some one else to help, reminding the person of the relationship. That person responded ‘that’s an easy yes’..
She was reaping what she had sown many years prior. The seeds of goodness that she had spread years prior, was coming back.
By the way, we know the opposite of these goodness seeds can be true.
Let me pause here and say: thank God for God’s grace and mercy. This is almost the only circumstance where we don’t reap what we sow. Instead of giving us what we deserve, He gives us His love and care – even with a dose of consequence, but, always with love.
As you contemplate this message, what seeds are you planting? Are you sowing the seeds of the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, patience, self control, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness and faithfulness?
May we collectively plant these seeds, so that we can reap a good harvest.
Dear Heavenly Father, as we are going through life, would you help us to plant good things? Would you help us to live a life of character so that when the harvest comes, we will be pleased with the seeds that have borne fruit? Help me to be intentional with what I’m planting.