I am not much of a gardener. Our one attempt as a family had a pitiful yield. The carrots were no bigger than the size of my finger and many of the other crops never bloomed. But even if I can’t garden well, I do understand one of the main pieces to a good garden – rich soil. While in seminary, I was fascinated by composting. The ability to take things that we normally discard – like vegetable scraps, and mix them with wood chips or leaves to form something life-giving. Or taking the manure of animals and spreading it on the ground to bring about something bountiful in yield. One of the chief things that I struck me about this passage is that in order to be sown in good soil, to hear the word of God and understand it, and to bear fruit beyond our wildest imagination, we need a little manure in our lives. That is to say, sometimes life seems to pile crappy things upon us, things that we would rather avoid. But in these things, my friends, we find the fertile ground for fruitful discipleship. How are we going to respond when we seem to be buried in things that are unpleasant and beyond our control? Are we going to give up? If this is the case, we are just like the seeds that were scattered in places that could not bring life. No. We are called to bear those things that we find ourselves in. To take the things that most people avoid or throw away and find the life-giving parts of them.
Do not misunderstand me. I am not attempting to make light of our trials and suffering. However, sometimes we need the messiness of life to cover us, so we can grow in our relationship with God and bring about fruit for the Kingdom. Something that I have realized lately is that my prayer life is never better than when I am in times of trial. When life seems the most suffocating, I am at my closest to God. Perhaps this is human nature. We more readily turn to the Holy One when we are at our wit's end and know that we need to relinquish all control because we cannot make it through a situation on our own. So maybe, just maybe, we need those trying times in life because they draw us closer to God. We need a reminder that we are not the center of the universe. That we need someone more powerful than us to redeem our situation and bring about something amazing. What if we began to look at trials as a source of grace? As something that could be used for something bigger than us instead of simply writing them off as unnecessary?
How are you responding to the circumstances in which you find yourself? How are you responding to being sown? For surely the good news of God’s grace is taking root in you if you are growing in discipleship. In order to take root and blossom, we need to work towards understanding, taking care of our spiritual journey, and preserve through the painful times. Growing is hard work no matter what soil you find yourself in, whether you are a first-time seeker or a life-long disciple.
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