Seedtime and Harvest
If you saw my blogs the last couple of days, you’ll know I am a married woman now. Wow! What a difference a few days can make. I am awakened to the fact that it’s not just about me, me, me any longer. It’s about we, we, we!
And isn’t that what God called us to anyway? God asked us to love Him with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves. I love my new neighbor!
I wrote a blog on August 1st that spoke of the beautiful examples of God’s handiwork in His creation. That blog was about the beauty of sunflowers and their innate ability to literally follow the sun as it crosses the sky. Isn’t that amazing? But the best news ever is our Savior, the Son of God, and how He continues to shine His bright light as WE follow Him.
A friend commented on that blog about a news report she saw where a Kansas farmer’s gift of sunflowers for he and his wife’s 50th anniversary. I checked the story out. Lee Wilson of Pratt, Kansas wondered: “What’s a guy get his gal for our 50th? I put a lot of thought into it, and she always liked sunflowers. I thought this is the year to plant sunflowers, so I planted her 1.2 million sunflowers on 80 acres.”
Lee Wilson secretly planted the field back in May with the help of his son, so his wife would be surprised. His wife, Renee, responded: “It made me feel very special. It couldn’t have been a more perfect anniversary gift than a field of sunflowers.” That’s a whole lotta’ planting!
This story took my blog to a whole new level. The symbolism of the sunflower and how it follows the sun, was our desire to follow our Savior all the days of our life. I knew I wanted sunflowers for our wedding. Thus, the beautiful bouquet that my Carl had made for me.
Now the sunflower bouquet sits in a vase with a little water at the bottom to keep it alive as long as possible. I see it and am reminded about how much God loves His creation and you and me!
Our amazing God takes a package of “splendor” and we watch Him grow more than sunflowers. He grows His people and His Church. The Apostle Paul wrote: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3:6)
I want to be His partner on that team. Maybe I’m the planter aka sower and you are the waterer. Or vice versa – you are the sower, and I am the waterer. You may plant a seed of God’s faithfulness to a co-worker. Then I (or another waterer) come along and gives a bold testimony of God’s amazing grace. Then God stirs up His splendor and love and brings in the harvest of that soul we were ministering to.
Those are the sunflowers of God’s kingdom. Those are the followers of the Son and wherever He goes, they also go. The glory of God seen in their lives attracts others to come and experience it. The messengers hear, experience life in Christ, and transport it to others with the glow of God’s goodness all over their faces and their hearts.
We plant, and we water, but it is God who grows the seed. It’s almost harvest time! We must keep our eyes open, seizing the opportunities He presents, both to receive salvation and join with Him in offering it to others.