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Every Spring, two things happen here on Sharon Road.  First of all, I’m fighting a case of the winter blues.  Secondly, I can’t wait to get outside and get my hands in the dirt.

Pastor’s message this morning revolved around chapter 13 in the gospel of Matthew.  The parable of the four soils.  Now those that have been walking with me during my Christian journey are well aware of the fact I don’t easily understand parables.  I take them at face value, which made the New Testament quite challenging at times.  It wasn’t until quite recently that I picture Jesus when I read ‘good shepherd’, and when I saw the word ‘sheep’, well ……. I think you get the picture.  I now understand that in God’s eyes I wasn’t ready to understand them then.  He’s kindly upgrading my brain a little at a time, which is probably a good thing, or there definately would be a crash.

Pastor read to us the four types of soil, then read to us what the four types represented.  It was during this part of the service that I had an “AH HAH!” moment.  The kind that snaps my eyes wide open and makes me what to jump up and yell “I GET IT!”    We’ve all had those moments, whether we want to admit it or not.  My moment came when Pastor took us back to Genesis 2:7.  ‘Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.’  He took the dust of the ground.  The dirt.  The soil.  He formed man.  I’ve read it 100 times.  It wasn’t until this morning I connected the parable of the soil and the dust from which man was formed.   AH HAH!  WE ARE DIRT!  Thank you Pastor Tim!

We are soil.  Pastor asked us to think about what kind of soil we are.  Am I being fruitful by growing and planting more seeds?  Through my posts and conversations with people around me, I hope I’m planting seeds.  I like to plant seeds.  I like watching the seeds I plant grow.

Last fall I gathered some seeds.  I kept them in a safe place until this spring.  I bought seed starter planting soil and I planted those tiny little seeds.  I watered them.  I gave them light.  They sprouted and grew.  I now have several pots of beautiful petunias.  All because I gathered and then planted seeds.  And this fall I will harvest again.

In closing, if just one of my faith seeds lands in good soil, I will have done my job.  It is up to God to water it and make it grow.  I may never see the fruit of my labor, but at least I planted.  And now, because of sin, I have to go toil in the soil.