PLANTING SEEDS

"What’s that you have, little girl?" asked the stranger with the kind eyes.

"It’s a tiny seed," she replied.

"What are you going to do with it?" he asked.

"Well, at first I just put it on a shelf, but then it got all shriveled and dried out. Then I decided to hold it really tight in my hand, all the time, but then it got all soggy and limp. So, I’ve decided I’m going to plant it."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" said the kind stranger. "Where are you going to plant it?"

The little girl looked puzzled.

"I’m not sure."

"Well, I know a great place to plant it!" he said with a smile.

"Really?!" she squealed.

"Really."

So the kind stranger led the little girl to a tiny patch of dirt, in an obscure little field, and pointed to a place next to a large tree.

"Here is the perfect place for this seed to be planted."

The little girl looked doubtful.

It didn’t seem like the area was very conducive to growth. It looked rather inhospitable, and dry. The ground was hard, and the little patch of dirt was in the shade. But, too embarrassed to disagree with the kind stranger, she started to dig up the dirt.

And then, when the little hole was dug, she glanced back up at the stranger.

"Should I put the seed in the dirt now?"

"Yes, absolutely. It’s exactly the right time for it to be planted."

So she did.

For days, the little girl would come and check where she had buried the seed. She saw nothing happening…nothing at all.

The dirt looked even drier, the ground looked even harder. There were weeds growing everywhere. The shadow of the tree was blocking out the sunlight.

One day, very discouraged, she just sat down and started crying.

Almost instantly, she became aware that she wasn’t alone.

She looked up and saw the silhouette of the stranger.

"What’s wrong?" he asked kindly.

"My seed isn’t growing," she sniffed. "I didn’t think this was a very good place for it to grow."

"It’s the perfect place for it to grow," he reassured her. "It just needs a gardener."

"Well, I don’t know anything about how to grow seeds, and I don’t know any gardeners," she sighed.

"Ah, but that’s where you’re in luck," he said. "I am a master gardener. Will you let me help grow your seed?"

With no other alternative in mind, the little girl said, "Yes."

And the stranger got to work.

He cultivated the surrounding dirt, he yanked out the weeds, he spread fertilizer, and he watered the area around where the seed had been planted.

"There, that should take care of it until tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" the little girl asked in surprise. "You mean you have to do this every day?"

"Yes," replied the stranger. "Seeds need tending every day if they are to grow."

Day after day, the little girl watched the stranger work. Every day he tended the seed. And before she knew it, under his watchful care, a sprout broke through the surface and began to grow.

She was delighted.

One day, the stranger approached her. He still had the kindest eyes.

"So, what do you think? I told you that seed would grow!"

"Yes, you did. But it only grew under your care," she replied.

"But that’s how it’s supposed to happen. Only a master gardener knows how and when and where to grow a seed."

"Will it grow very big?" she asked him seriously.

He paused for a moment…

"Time will tell. But see that large tree right next to your growing seed?"

She looked to where he was pointing.

"Yes, I see it."

"Well, I planted that one, too."

And with that, he winked at the little girl, as she stared at the tree in amazement!

Are you giving your seed to the Master Gardener?

Letting Him do His work of cultivating and weeding – fertilizing and watering?

Can you trust that in His timing, your seed will become a mighty tree?

Plant your seeds, my friends – and have faith…

"You don’t have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible." (Matthew 17:20)

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