Seeds they’re tiny, aren’t they? A lot of them are so small that you can fit them on the tip of your finger. Usually those tiny seeds, if they are planted in the right way and experience the right conditions, will grow into something much larger than the tiny seed that was planted. Seeds go through a lot of processes in the ground…I imagine it probably doesn’t always feel good to go through the changes that take place. It has to hurt and be uncomfortable, don’t you think? It’s also pretty dark buried deep in that dirt…
I recently watched a sermon that Pastor Steven Furtick preached that sparked my memory of something I learned about seeds last year. It’s about what a seed goes through in order to become the tree, flower, vegetable etc…that it’s destined to become. He talked about how a seed is buried deep down in the dirt…and then it has to wait. It doesn’t know how long it’ll be there; It could be weeks or months, it doesn’t know. Only the farmer who planted it knows just how long it’ll be buried deep.
Wow! That honestly feels like the perfect description of my life over the last year. I have felt buried deep. But it hasn’t felt like I was buried deep to grow, it’s felt more like I was buried and then forgotten. It’s a hard place to be. It’s uncertain and feels tumultuous. Have you ever felt that way, too? I mean, deep down inside I know that my Father sees me. I know He has a plan. I know He knows how long all this will last, but I personally don’t have a clue of the time table, and it’s pretty dark down here in the dirt…
So what did I learn last year about seeds? Well, I learned that in order for a tiny seed to grow into the beautiful tree, beautiful flower, or much needed vegetable…it has to do something first. It has to die. The potential that is packed inside that seed will never spring forth from the deep dark soil and become all it’s supposed to be, if it does not first die.
Again, such an analogy for my life lately. If I want to be everything God has called me to be and do everything God has called me to do, then I have to die to myself. My wants. My needs. My desires. I will never fully fulfill my God-given destiny if I do not die. That’s a humbling thought, isn’t it? It’s not only humbling…it’s hard, too.
I’ll be honest, I thought that this year would look a whole lot different than it looks right now. Instead of seeing all of God’s promises to me being fully fulfilled like I thought I would, I’m still staring at the deep dark soil. And it hurts and it’s uncomfortable. And I don’t know how long I’ll be here…only my Father knows. And it’s pretty dark down here in the dirt…
So what do I do in this dirt? Change, surrender, and grow. Growth isn’t always easy, is it? I remember when I was younger my knees started swelling and hurting pretty bad, so my mom took me to the doctor and the doctor examined me and he said, “oh. She’s just having growing pains.” Well, spiritual growth hurts, too. Those things that at one time God allowed inside your heart, may not be acceptable any longer because if you keep those things in there, your growth will be stunted. You won’t reach the height that God has for you to reach! You won’t go where He wants to take you. You either let those things go or you stunt your spiritual growth. Essentially, you rob yourself of the future God has for you. It’s hard confronting and ridding ourselves of those things…but once you do, you find a freedom that you were meant to have all along!
Dying feels awful in moment…and growing definitely feels painful sometimes, but reaching the full potential that was packed inside of us before we ever breathed our first breath, will for sure be worth all of the pain! Just like when the tiny seed gives way and becomes the beautiful tree that kids climb and play on; that paper is made from; that homes are built out of. So we become all that God has destined us to become when we give way to our Father’s will…
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