A New Understand of Seeds

My wife decided she wanted to plant a garden this year. So, we dug up a plot of sod, marked it out with landscape timbers, turned the soil, and planted seeds.

Real, honest to God, seeds.

And, by some miracle of her green thumb, Lower Alabama's fertile soil, and a high water bill, things grew.

Sunflowers that stand nearly 8 feet tall.  Basil plants so fruitful we can't eat enough spaghetti, and zucchini so numerous we're turning green ourselves.

But the poor watermelon plant.  About where SHW's shadow is in this picture is where we planted a watermelon seed.  It grew, slowly but nobly, in the beginning. Until the zucchini plant grew so large that it nearly took over the whole garden.  The poor watermelon tried to survive.  It wrapped itself around the strong leaves of the zucchini, and it continued to grow, slower yet, and bit less noble.  Until, one day last week, when SHW called time of death, cut the vine, and removed the poor plant.

Much to her shock and sadness, she found one tiny little watermelon growing on the vine.  "I could have cried," she texted me.  And all of a sudden the parable of the seeds came into a new light.  Faith is kind of like seed strewn by a sewer, but the success rates vary day to day rather than lifetime to lifetime.

Sometimes, the seed grows to 100 fold yield, like that dang zucchini plant.  Sometimes it fizzles out due to lack of water, or sun, or nutrient rich soil.  And sometimes, it fights like hell to survive despite the worst of conditions.  Our poor watermelon plant did that, and so has each one of us who claim discipleship of Jesus.  Sometimes our faith gets tested, but sure enough, with some love and some living water and some bread and some wine, we survive, despite the odds and for the glory of God.

Next year, one zucchini plant, and, for sure, a watermelon.