I love this time of year when the gardens are overflowing with fresh fruit and vegetables. The fields of corn are being harvested and the roadside produce stands are all stocked full of this goodness. I don't know about you but it just doesn't get much better than a fresh garden tomato! A BLT never tastes quite as good as it does in the summertime. Next to the tomato, corn has to be my favorite out of the garden. I can buy canned green beans in the winter and doctor them up to taste pretty good but canned corn just can't even come close to freezing it fresh from the garden and having it year round. My son came in with a beautiful bounty of it the other night and I couldn't help but laugh and think back to a movie we've watched and quoted a million times, Secondhand Lions. If you've seen it, you probably know where I'm heading with this. If you haven't, I highly recommend you do! One of our favorite parts was the garden scene.
The two uncles had a seed salesman come by and sell them all kinds of seeds. They planted them carefully in rows, labeled each row, weeded and cared for them. As they began to grow and the expectation of all the good vegetables they were going to soon enjoy, they noticed all the rows looked alike. The salesman had sold them nothing but corn and just put them in different packages labeled with other names. These men and their nephew had corn and nothing but corn in abundance! Although I laugh so hard at that part every time, I also pause and think about a spiritual truth, a universal law, we will reap what we sow. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Galatians 6:7. Some people call it Karma or say what goes around comes around. The truth is this is how God has set up the universe. Nothing grows without first being planted. So I ask myself this question, what am I reaping? If it's something I don't like or want then I need to look at what I sowed. I know some people don't like this truth because it puts responsibility back on them. I get that, trust me. I've had to get honest with myself lately and realize I've produced some things in my life that are unpleasant because of what I sowed. I also
recognize that sometimes we are affected by what others around us have sown that we have no control over. It is still very important that we continue to sow good seed. The way we react to these things will still be a seed that will produce in our lives. We need to uproot those weeds and replace them with good ones. We also need to be careful of the salesmen that come around offering seed that is labeled wrong. Be wise, don't just buy into anything. Look at that seed good, know if it is what it is supposed to be. You don't want to plant just anything in your garden because it will produce, for good or for bad. The abundance of corn and nothing else in the movie was funny and harmless but sowing the lies of Satan is not harmless. His seed of... here, just try this one time, it won't hurt you, grows into a lifetime of addiction. His seeds are really all the same, they are subtle lies to get us to question God's truth, just like he said to Eve in the garden when he asked her "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?" (Genesis 3:1) He presented her with the lie and planted a seed of doubt in her.
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. 1 Peter 5:8
Let me end by sowing some good news into you today! It's never to late to start planting the right seed. You see, God's mercy is new everyday! every moment really. He forgives us and empowers us by his Spirit to forgive others and walk in HIS LOVE. Start fresh right now by receiving his love and forgiveness. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
I welcome your comments and as always, if you have any prayer requests it would be my honor to pray for you.
Love and Blessings! Tara
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