What Are You Planting?

Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! The canvas (this day) is blank, Friends…let’s create a masterpiece! 😊

Galatians 6:9 says:

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

I have heard that scripture, and others like it, hundreds of times and I am sure you have as well. Have you ever really thought about it though? I don’t think I really had until earlier this week. I was listening to the radio and the announcer directly tied it to gardening…it was all so perfectly clear to me in that moment!

Would I just go throw seeds on the ground without first preparing the ground to receive the seeds? While some seeds just thrown on hard ground may take root and grow, I certainly wouldn’t expect a harvest that could provide enough food for my family and me. I had not done the work to make sure the soil was ready to receive the seed and therefore, I had not prepared to receive a harvest. So why would I expect that I could just show up without preparing my spirit, heart, mind, and body and expect to achieve success? Sure, there may be moments of success however without taking care of the foundation of who I am, I am no more prepared to achieve consistent success than untilled land is to produce a harvest.

How about this one? Would I expect to plant carrot seeds and harvest corn? Or would I plant watermelons and expect to harvest cantaloupes? Sure, go ahead and snicker…it does sound ridiculous. So why would I expect to sow seeds of negativity and have a positive life? Or why would I sow seeds of discord and expect peace? Equally ridiculous!!!

O.K., now we have got our seeds in our prepared soil so now we can kick back and wait for the harvest, right? Would any of us really expect to reap a harvest when we don’t water the seeds or make sure the ground is fertilized? No seriously, please think about it. How good of a farmer would I be if I stuck some seeds in the dirt and never watered them or fertilized them? Not a very good one! This makes sense to us, and it would be ridiculous to expect the seed that is not nurtured to grow. Sure, there could be a rain that comes and helps but would each seed grow to its full potential? Hardly! So, what about the seeds that we have planted in our lives? We must continue to nurturer our spirits, hearts, minds, and bodies…carefully feeding them the things they need to grow so we can reach our full potential. It is not a one and done type of thing. It is something that must be done on a consistent basis. Trust the process!!!

How about this one? So, I planted my corn seeds today and tomorrow I am going to go out and reap my harvest! That’s how it works, right? You said I reap what I sow; I sowed corn seeds today so tomorrow I can reap the harvest, right? That’s what you said! Except we all know that it doesn’t work that way. It takes time for the seed to grow, mature, and produce a harvest. We understand this concept with trees…why not with our lives? The grandest oak tree started as a seed at some point. It took time, perhaps many years, to become the grand oak it is today. The same is true of me and you, Friend! Let us grow to be the oak trees we were created to become! Let’s invest every day so one day we can realize the fullness of the potential that is within us.

And we mustn’t forget about weeding our crops. Weeds can choke the life out of a plant if we don’t remove them. Same with our spirits, hearts, minds, and bodies. We need to be very intentional about what we allow to be poured into and grow in our spirits, hearts, minds, and bodies…if not they can choke the life out of us!

Does the “you reap what you sow” make a little more sense now? So, the question with this Happy Friday is this: what are you planting? As a person? In your marriage and relationships? As a parent and friend? We will all reap what we sow!

And I thought it might be helpful to share a few more scriptures on sowing and reaping.

Galatians 6:8

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

2 Corinthians 9:6

Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Job 4:8

According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity

And those who sow trouble harvest it.

And a few quotes.

“Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow and act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.” - Charles Reade

“Life is like a garden; you reap what you sow.” - Paulo Coelho

“We reap what we sow. Choose what you nourish carefully.” – Anonymous

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious families, and please stay well!

Kev