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“But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
~Matthew 13:8
When I was born I was shorter than a ruler. Now, I’m 4′ 10″ depending on who actually measures my height. As a result of my short stature, I have really small feet. I can wear a size 3 or 4 girls shoe or a ladies 5 or 6 depending on the style. As my younger brother started to get taller his feet got larger–as they should.
I on the other hand wasn’t handling him having larger feet well. I was the oldest by 3.5 years and I was determined to have the largest feet of the kids. I did NOT want Mom to buy Bradley shoes that actually fit him if they were going to be bigger than mine.
I was reminded of this story the other night and the fact that we all grow at different rates. Just because someone else is younger than us and getting what we feel we need, deserve, or want doesn’t mean that God is saying no to us. His plan for our lives is tailor made to each of us. Unique in it’s struggles and joys. Just like each finger print is different so is each person’s life plan.
As I read the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13 I was struck by the verse above. I thought that it was really encouraging that the seed that fell on the good ground, grew, and yielded a crop. But it didn’t seem to matter how big of a crop that it yielded just that there was a crop to harvest.
I thought about how we used to garden at the old house. We had 1/4 of an acre and we grew a TON of food. By studying square foot gardening we were able to implement some of the techniques to make our little space yield a lot. In one bed we planted pole beans that grew vertically in the back and peas in front. We measured and gave each plant the space that it needed while making the most of what we had. Tomatoes were grown with the bell peppers and often times we’d go out and reseed. Once we harvested a Spring crop, we’d reseed with something that could be harvested in the Fall.
As a result we were able to plant a decent size garden. Harvesting enough produce to put up several quarts of homemade salsa and eat plenty of fresh salads. Trust me, that Salsa was some of the best we’d ever had…Friendly fights broke out at our annual Crazy Santa gift exchange that year… (;
“She has done what she could…”
~Mark 14:8a
As part of God’s unique plan for each of us He’s given us talents…Special gifts that we can use to bring glory to Him and spread His message of hope and salvation. In Matthew 25:14-30 were told of a man who gave talents to three different people. To one he gave three, to another two and the last person got one talent. Two of the people invested that money and it grew. The man who was given one talent went and buried it producing nothing. When the man’s master came back that man was reprimanded and his talent was given to another.
The point is that it doesn’t matter how much of a crop you yield–just that there is something good to be harvested. We’re not all made to be a huge wheat field. Remember that flower gardens and flower boxes are pretty and needed too.
It’s also important that we don’t grow stagnant. Just because we had only 1/4 of an acre didn’t mean that we couldn’t garden. We just had to get creative and make the most of what we were given…doing what we could with what we had. The same is true in life. Just because we don’t have a lot of money or a big house or whatever it is that you feel you need doesn’t meant that you can’t serve God well. You may just have to get creative doing what you can, making the most of what you’ve been given for His glory…Trusting Him to provide the increase (1 Corinthians 6:3b).
Until next time,
Bailey Sue
Good message…. Thanks for the thoughts!
Russ