Seed Cycle Meditations
March 22, 2019 9:10 pm 1 Comment
It’s time
for me to put my wild flower seeds in the ground so they feel the cold and then bloom in the later spring and through the summer.
Here are some thoughts on seeds and of growing things slowly and patiently:
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“I am an active member of the Slow Communication Movement, relying to the extent possible on words thought out, to be sent by the postal service, slow and late but fast enough. For most things humans have said, slow has been plenty fast.”
-By Wendell Berry, found in his poem The SCM.
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“Let’s say you’re a seed. Just for the moment. You get stuck in a cranny under a lump of dirt. It’s dark. You’re used to that. But rain comes and things begin to happen that you’ve never known. Strange things. You feel stretched as suddenly a part of you pops out, breaking your shell. A shoot goes up. What is this? It’s death – that’s what it is. And you thought you’d just begun to live. There was so much to see and do. You hold on with dear might to the life you’ve come to know and love.
“What you don’t understand is that the death you’re experiencing is why you came into the world. By this death many more seeds will come into being, provide sustenance for others, and majestic beauty like you’ve never imagined. The increase continues a thousand times.
“At Wycliffe Bible Translators we work to translate the Bible into every language that needs it. Starting is hard, and finishing is hard. Being a finishable task, it’s a unique role in the kingdom.
“Sometimes, before we’re through, we see great results. People devour the translated Scriptures, understand for the first time what God is saying, and their lives are changed. Other times there’s not much interest. Not yet. But the Word is a SEED. There may be a period where nothing seems to be happening. A new change in the environment must come. One day the rain will fall. New life will come.
“That’s what it’s all about.
“The life is in the seed.”
-By Hyatt Moore, found in “In Other Words”, Sept 1996
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“Most people expect God’s Word to work like a stick of dynamite — but God’s Word is like a seed.”
–The Word of God is a Seed, His Word, My Mouth
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“Jesus made a lot of analogies to agriculture. The parable of the sower is one of the classic teachings, with the seed being scattered and falling on four different kinds of soil. It produced (or didn’t) accordingly. The environment has much to do with the receptivity of the seed.
“The story is in the book of Mark, chapter four. The seed, we’re told, is the Word. The farmer sows it. He goes away. Day and night, whether the farmer is awake or asleep, other things begin to happen- mysterious things in the soil. In time a tiny shoot comes up, the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. All by itself it happens. The farmer just has to get the seed in the ground.
“That’s how we see it at Wycliffe Bible Translators. We do what we do on the field in order that there will be fruit, that there will be beauty, and a proliferation of true life for generations to come. There are no guarantees, except one. If the seed doesn’t get into the soil, nothing else will happen.”
-By Hyatt Moore, found in WBT Newsletter, June 1996
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“Paul’s tone of voice displays his affection for the Philippians: “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.” Paul writes. “God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.”
“This contrasts sharply with the posts, thoughts and emotions that scroll through my noisy social media feed. Hurried and painting broadly, we are encouraged to say what we are thinking quickly and concisely. Paul’s language is focused and personal.
“It feels immediate, but it does not satisfy. Real, personal connection can only be cultivated by slowness and embodies personal relationship. Returning to this relational fullness can start with silence to help us hear God’s voice and remember that we belong to Him, and to each other.”
-Sandra McCracken, The Bible’s Slowness, found in Christianity Today, July 2018
1 Comment
Your teaching was a blessing and very refreshing! God’s purposes for each of us may not all come rapidly! Thank you, for sharing!