Every single day we sow seeds.

Recently I heard Ed Young (Fellowship Church - Grapevine, TX) on television. He was talking about giving money, but the bigger idea of sowing hit me. Every day at work I am sowing. Every day at home I am sowing. Every day with friends I am sowing. Every day with strangers I am sowing. Your life and my life is a continuous experience of sowing into people's lives. We are putting seeds into the lives of others day by day, week by week, year by year. In the instance of a spouse & children, we put seeds into their lives for decades. And the harvest comes. Seeds that are nurtured in the right kind of environment - soil, sun and rain - grow, blossom and bear fruit that in turn becomes seed for more fruit. Whatever I plant in a relationship will always come back to me.

What can we sow into other people's lives? Love is at the top of the pyramid. A close second is hope followed by joy, courage, faith, strength, peace. I think you get the idea. Those are the kinds of things we want to plant in others. And in turn, those are the kinds of things that will come back to us from those very people.

But think with me for a moment: Can you sow those kinds of seeds into other people? Honestly some people can't sow love or hope or peace. They really can't. You cannot give away what you have never received.

If you discover that you are throwing seeds of bitterness and disappointment and frustration at others, ask the question: Why? It may be that somewhere in your past someone threw those same seeds at you. Those seeds blossomed and flourished. They became walls around your heart - as protection. And so when others have thrown love or hope or joy, they've bounced off the walls. You can't let them "in."

And so here's a thought. If you find you are sowing seeds of distrust or fear, stop for a moment and think: When have I been loved? Think on that for a season. Remember the person, the moment and the experience. Nurture that seed. Don't rush through it. Let it grow and blossom. Then see what happens next.

"A Year Ago"

It was an ordinary day helping my wife with a project when her cell phone rang. The news was tragic & terrible. A friend's young daughter had died earlier that morning. She was 11. We could not comprehend the news. But when we did grasp it, it was heartbreaking to us - & still is. And Monday is the 1st anniversary of her death. Martha Anne was a tremendous young lady - full of promise & potential. Her parents & grandparents are wonderful people. I saw the light of God shining brightly in Martha Anne. I knew that she would be one of those people who would make a difference in our world. But now she's gone. And it makes me wonder why.

I find myself coming back to something God said in the Bible. It is in a section called Romans. It reads,

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to

those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

I don't understand everything here, but this sentence gives me some clarity on the tragedies of life. "All things" includes Martha Anne's death. God is somehow powerful enough to take such an event like her death & create something good from it. And the results are such that when we see them, we will say, "Well that is good." I'm not sure we'll see the goodness of it during this life because it may be a goodness that the earth cannot contain. However somewhere in eternity or on earth, the results of October 13, 2007 will be good.

And I know this promise is for her parents. Her mom & dad both love God & they are living "according to His purpose." They fully believe that God's purposes are being accomplished through their lives, even the tragedy of losing a child. They don't understand it, but regardless they trust the heart of God. In fact, we read these words later on in Romans:

If God is for us, who is against us?
He did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all.

God knows what it is like to watch your own child die. He knows the heartache of our world firsthand. And behind the death of Jesus the purposes of God were being accomplished. So we can trust God even in the darkest of times because His heart "is for us."