Monday, March 5, 2012

What kind of seeds are you planting?

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” John 4:34-38 (NIV) * What we sow, so shall we reap - it's a saying that we've all heard (sometimes over and over again). Everything we do, everywhere we go, everyone we talk to - we are planting seeds. Hopefully we are planting good seeds and not just by what we say, but by what we are doing and how we are living our lives. As seeds are planted, lives will be touched ♥ My question to you today is "what kind of seeds are you planting?" ♥


Today marks five months since we lost our youngest son, Mike (shown here with his two children). Now I could talk about how sad it is or how difficult some of the MOMents are but instead I want to talk about BLESSINGS. Yes, you read that right - Blessings!

Everyone who has lost a loved one - a child, a parent, a sibling, etc - knows how hard it is. They know all about the difficult times. Let's face it, death is all around us. It's in the newspaper, the internet, the television - it's everywhere and not just in the news. Death is sometimes the feature of a television program or even a book. Losing someone is the hardest thing we will ever endure. Losing a child, well the reality of it, is that it just plain sucks. But I promised I was going to talk about the blessings (and also try to tie all of this with the posted Bible verse).

What we sow, so shall we reap! It is a saying that we've all heard. But have you ever really thought about it. I'm not talking about MONEY. I'm talking about our actions, our words. As most people who have lost a loved one that is exceptionally close to them - a child, a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, etc - you tend to pay more attention to the "little" details all around you. The sun seems to shine brighter. The sky is bluer. The birds sing beautifully. You view dying in a different way. And this list goes on and on. I have found that I have more compassion for others - more now than ever before. I may not always understand or even relate to what others are going through (the difficult trials) but I am always willing to listen.

This weekend, after an amazing dinner out with my husband and youngest daughter, we went to the bookstore. In the bookstore, I found a book by Laura Story. Her song "Blessings" has been such an inspiration to me that finding this book (quite by accident) was not a coincidence. It was God's doing (remember God is always in control). This devotional filled with Bible verses, quotes and even a place for our own thoughts was something that I had to have - just flipping through the book, I knew it was going to be a "blessing". I found my book at Barnes and Noble but you can also purchase it directly from Laura's website.

Now for that blessing I was telling you about. *smiles*

At the checkout counter, the lady said something about the other book I had chosen (a Charles Stanley book). She then proceeded to ring up my "Blessings" Devotional and with tears in her eyes told me that this song was the most beautiful song she had ever heard. I looked at her (with tears in my eyes) and said, "yes, I understand. We just lost our youngest son 5 months ago." She stopped what she was doing, repeated what I had said, looked at me and said "I am so sorry for your loss". After saying thank you, I asked her why the song was so inspirational to her. She proceeded to tell me that her daughter was fighting cancer. (big tears, it's okay, I understand). We talked very briefly but during that time something else she said (yes, this is the blessing part) really touched my heart. She explained that yes, her daughter was battling cancer. But if it was God's will for her to reach her heavenly home, it wasn't because cancer was going to kill her. Or that the chemo was going to take her. It was because God needed another angel with Him in heaven and He would be calling her to her heavenly home (what a blessing). After looking at her (with compassion in my expression), I asked if I could pray for her daughter. She, of course, said yes and said that my son must have fulfilled his plans that God had chosen for him because now he (my son) was resting in the arms of Jesus. WOW! This lady, in all her struggles and in all her trials and difficulties, found a way to turn all those troubles into a blessing for me.

Again, what we sow, we shall reap. It wasn't just her actions, it was her words and the way that she presented them to me. Yes, we all have difficulties - some are so BIG that most of us can't imagine having to walk that path - but even during our most difficult times, someone else might see what we are battling as a blessing. As I grieve for my youngest son (and this is a pain that I do not wish for anyone else), I know that by giving it all to Jesus; depending on God's strength, I can walk this path (not like I have any other choice *smile*) and I can try to make it a blessing to show someone else also. 


The Bible Verse? As I try to sow seeds of blessings and compassion, even during grieving, I found someone else who was walking through a trial that I haven't walked through and with her words, found a blessing that I might not have discovered if I wasn't trying to use the loss of my son as a testimony to others. Coincidence? No. I don't really believe in them. Maybe a miracle in disguise - the "silver lining". I do believe that might be true. As you go through your trials, your grieving (whatever it may be), let God be your guide, use His words to offer comfort to others ... you might just be surprised to find your own "silver lining". Have a Beautiful Blessed Day!

What kind of seeds are you planting today?

Country FarmHouse Blessings,
~*♥*~ Lori ~*♥*~

2 comments:

ifrog crafter said...

Thank you so much for sharing this. I love when God works like this. Totally brought tears to my eye. <3 <><

Lori H said...

Thank you Karalee <3

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