Growing

 

Winter time is upon us. The days are gloomy with little bursts of brilliant sunshine scattered here and there. It’s the time of year when I get restless and anxious. I start dreaming of going barefoot, mowing the yard and taking long walks. The garden begins taking shape in my mind and I get way to excited about a new seed catalog in the mail. There is an sense of urgency in the air. There is a desire for the sweet smells of spring and of new life.

I feel the same way about my walk with God too. I am as a tiny seed in the ground, with great potential to become something extraordinary, a faithful servant to the Lord. Inside, the Lord has placed a hunger to grow, thrive and flourish. He has prepared me, the tiny seed, to live in adverse conditions and yet maintain the form and beauty that He has so well designed. God  breathed His breath into me and poured His spirit upon my soul. He has given me everything I need. “Now grow.” He whispers. I have grown. Yet there is so much more growing that needs to be done. In our culture it is easy to lean upon the stakes of the world and to resist stretching out in faith. We have little dependence on God and the fertilizer and stale water of the world seems to leach into our systems.

What if we were to be free from that? To stand alone in faith, to become rich and vibrant in the word, and to become solid and unmovable in our love for Christ? I feel that in my own life it is being worked out and will continue to be worked out as we move forward with missions. There are and will be times when faith will be the only answer. Yet we stretch, reaching for the goal and desiring to be more like Him.