First Week of "Seeding": Start Sowing Seeds

July 1st officially marks the first full week of “seeding” on The Online Grapevine.  I find it coincidental how an image of the sower planting seeds is posted in a loved one’s bedroom, the message of sowing and reaping often delivered in The Oasis Christian Center in Los Angeles, is also mentioned in books I have read such as Seeds of Faith by Jeremy Langford and Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen.  My role as an educator is about planting seeds in my students in whom I may not necessarily see the fruits of my labor, but I know that when they bloom, it will be beautiful.  These thoughts and images flood my mind and now it’s time to pour out what I know, what I’ve learned, and how I can spread the Word.

Most people are familiar with the Parable of the Sower, which is found in the Bible in the Gospel of Matthew.  It refers to a farmer who plants seeds in four different types of soil:  the footpath, the rocky ground, the thorny ground, and the rich soil.  The parable is a metaphor used to explain God as the Sower, the seed as the Word of God, and the condition of the people's hearts as the different types of soil.  The last type of soil, the rich fertile soil, obviously bears the most fruit refers to people “who hears the word, understands it, [applies it to their life] and who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold” (Matthew 13:23 St. Joseph Medium Size Edition).  

I will admit that I have often struggled with this concept.  I know so because I am human and I have not necessarily made the brightest or best choices in my life.  But as the poster in my classroom says, “Life is about making mistakes and learning from them.”  The great thing is that we can start all over if we are not happy with our current situation and we can sow new seeds.

Joel Osteen mentions “if you want to reap happiness, then you have to sow some ‘happiness’ seeds by making other people happy” (p. 170).   After I decided not to renew my contract at my school, I was wondering what am I going to do with all my school supplies and materials.  I had nowhere to store it.  As luck would have it, a woman from my apartment complex heard I was a second grade teacher and she was going to teach second grade for the first time in Watts.  It was almost as if my prayers had been answered. I told her about my current situation and I gave her the supplies she wanted.  In the back of my mind, I thought of all the money I had spent in building my classroom; what good would it do if no one was going to use it?  This seemed like something that God wanted me to do.

Keep sowing those seeds.

Sources:
New American Bible, St. Jospeh Medium Size Edition
Langford, J. (2009).  Seeds of faith: Practices to grow a healthy spiritual life. Brewster, Massachusetts
Olsteen, J. (2005).   Your best life now journal: A guide to reaching your full potential. New York, New York
The Oasis Christian Center 6pm Sunday Service, June 7, 2009, (audio version: http://www.oasisla.org/audioView.aspx?viewaudioguid=f94a61df-43b8-42bb-a...)