Spring Planting
I look forward to Spring every year. My husband says I’m a weird person in that I enjoy every season. As one season comes to an end, I always feel anxious and excited for the next season to come, especially the change from winter to spring. What I love most about Spring is planting flowers and a vegetable garden. I love the act of digging in the dirt, getting my beds ready to be planted, and the anticipation of what an overflowing flower and vegetable garden will look like when in full bloom and full fruit. I think often of how this symbolizes our spiritual lives. The Bible uses the imagery of sowing and reaping to frequently describe unseen spiritual realities.
In a particularly difficult ministry season, the Holy Spirit gave me this verse from Psalm 126, “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.”
This Psalm is one of fifteen pilgrimage psalms. The people of God are returning home from exile, and they are praising God for his deliverance. Tucked in this Psalm is a beautiful promise. As we sow our seeds of faithfulness and love in the name of Jesus, whether that be in our churches, communities, or the lives of our children, we entrust ourselves to God to bring a harvest, a reaping.
Many times, our planting can seem difficult and even in vain, but we must remember the promises of God that our faithful obedience is always rewarded.
I saw an encouraging quote relating to this idea this week and the author says it this way, “How are you stewarding the land you’ve been given this week? What seeds are you planting? What tender shoots should you water? You may not harvest for a long time, but you can still fertilize and weed.”
Let me encourage and challenge you to keep planting seeds of faithfulness and love. You may need to wait until you see a tender shoot pushing through the dirt and even longer to see real fruit from your plant, but trust God to bring those things in His good and wise timing. Remember that He is working in the depths of the soil, at times unseen to you and me.