Inadvertently Planting Seeds | Blogs For Christian Living
Accused of Being a Seed Planter
Recently, I received a message from a client, “You seed planter.” In all candor, I frequently have clients who have worked with me for a while tell me something like, “I was going to do such and such. Then I heard you in my head, so I did something different.” I often tease them that it’s a little scary that they hear my voice at the point of making an important decision. Truthfully, I recognize it for the awesome responsibility and privilege that it is.
We all plant seeds. Some of them are good. Some of them are not. Seeds can germinate and become something beautiful to view, beneficial and pleasing to eat, or they can produce weeds that choke out the good.
Our words are like those planted seeds. Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Harsh words can create an immediate anger quickly devolving a situation into an argument, but they can also create a lingering negative effect. A seething anger that remains just under the surface, ready to erupt at any time.
We have worked with clients that have to deal with harmful words spoken by family members, authority figures, and those in the church. Sometimes, they have heard these words so many times, that they have a brainwashed response. Eventually, they are so worn down, they begin to believe what is being said. They find themselves agreeing, and finally they adopt the words as fact and identity. At this point, they begin to reinforce the words by saying them to themselves.
Seeing Through the Weeds
These thoughts become kind of like weeds. There are many types of weeds. Some are pretty at first, having colorful blooms. Others provide entertainment as you blow the soft white furry seeds away from you. Of course there are more obvious ones that have stickers and thorns. The thing about weeds is that eventually they take over.
In Colorado, the wind can amass quite a collection of these bulky, poky, structures that we call tumbleweeds. I’m sure you can apply the most appropriate mental picture based on the weeds you struggle with the most in your region. Regardless of the type of weed, the concept remains the same. The unique gifts and calling that the Lord has on an individual’s life is being choked out by weeds.
When we see weeds, it’s time to eradicate them. It might only require a small hand tool. Perhaps something a little larger in the case of Yucca. For tumbleweeds, it may take a large piece of farm equipment that can break them up and destroy them.
Soft answers, or even the ability to speak the truth wrapped in love (encouragement and exhortation), are like that piece of equipment that destroys the support structures that permit the tumbleweeds to take up so much space.
Planting Seeds of Encouragement
The seed I planted gave someone an extra boost so they could persevere and deal with hurts from their past. Together, we’re dismantling tumbleweeds and finding beauty and fruit along the way.
“You seed planter, you.” That accusation comes at a time in my life where I feel pressed on every side. There are numerous circumstances vying for attention, so much so, that the last thing I would even think I would be responsible for is planting seeds. And yet, isn’t that what we are instructed to do? We are to have an answer in season and out.
What seeds are you planting in the lives of others as you go about your daily tasks?
