Thursday, July 30, 2009

"You Feed Them"

It began in the winter with a couple of words from scripture that seemed to ring in my ears. One here, and one there. I didn't really notice at first. But then my pea brain began to see a trend. "In the morning, sow your seed..." (Ecc 11:6) "bearing seed for sowing... " (Ps 126: 6) "reap with songs of joy" (Ps 126:5), even a quote by Martin Luther: "If I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would nevertheless plant..."

Hmmm. Sow.... plant.... reap....

As I chewed on these words, a thought began to take shape. With the recent economic crisis affecting our nation, there was a deep desire in my heart to reach out to those in need. Blessed with a couple of acres of land, this was something I could do! I could plant and give vegetables to local ministries and food pantries.

Once I really took the idea seriously though, doubts crept in. I had never done this before! How would I know what to do? How would I find the time, the money, the energy?

And then, one morning in April, I read this devotion written by Randy Kilore in Made to Matter:













Well, I heard the Lord loud and clear! I copied the page and pasted it in my journal, and I planted!! Twenty-one rows of vegetables on nearly a quarter acre!!

Thinking it might be an encouragement to him, I wrote Randy Kilgore and shared how his words had impacted me and moved me to action. His reply is one of the most remarkable emails I have ever received:


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Thank you so much for sharing this news with me, and more than that, for being willing to share with others. It is a remarkably moving and unbelievably meaningful act. I'm deeply humbled God would use my words in this way, and willingly and delightfully I give Him all the glory and credit for even the selection of the phrasing.

I remember many nights, years ago, when as a boy I'd be playing at a friend's house while his mother was cooking dinner. The smells wafting through the air made me sad because I knew my dinner would be lettuce with heated up bacon grease used for dressing. On good nights we had hot dogs, but that was a rarity. Too proud even as a boy, I never accepted invitations to eat over at my friends' house. It didn't seem fair for me to eat so well when my two brothers wouldn't; it was easier to do without. Those nights without food, and days and days of hunger, still haunt me. At the time, they left me feeling like I was somehow less important and less deserving of the things everyone else had, and while I wasn't old enough to think it was God I was less important to, that's the place the hungry go in their thinking.

So when you share your food with others, let me promise you it will be giving them more than sustenance. Not all who receive it will be grateful, and not all will see it as coming from the hand of God, but most will, even if they only realize it later. Some will be forever set free from the idea they are less important to God merely because they're not hungry. It's why that passage in Matthew 25 appears so often in my writings... "hungry and you fed me..." I know with certainty that food becomes tangible evidence of God's love even to those who refuse to admit they're looking for Him to love them.

You've given me a gift that exceeds my ability to express gratitude. Somewhere out there in the crowd of unseen folks who will be the recipients of your efforts is the ghost of a 9 year old boy, grinning ear to ear as he watches somebody else get something he longed for so long... God's love expressed as tomatoes, cucumbers and peas.

Warmest regards in Christ,

Randy

Saturday, July 18, 2009

A Gardener's Front Row Seat


No wonder Jesus often used agriculture to teach life lessons. In my first season of "farming," I'm seeing the power of his teaching through fresh eyes.

The third week of May, just after the threat of frost, I planted. Tiny vegetable seeds--cucumbers, peppers, corn, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.--sprinkled on the ground and covered with a light layer of soil. Within just a short time, shoots began to sprout.... and so did my excitement! How did that happen? How did those tiny seeds become the tall, beautiful rows of vegetables I now see? It's certainly been a lesson to me to see the smallest seed grow large and bear fruit. It's been incredible to behold!

And then last weekend, the garden taught me another amazing life lesson. A summer storm blew in from the west and pounded the property. With little protection, the garden took the full impact of the wind. After it passed, I walked outside to find the cornstalks flat on the ground!! The wind had knocked them down completely. Having never farmed before, I expected the worst... that the corn was ruined. Nine long rows of corn bent over and beaten.

I've found myself in a similar position lately. The struggles and stresses of life have left me feeling like that corn. Beaten down, flattened... to the point that I've felt completely defeated
. Emotionally, I'm bowed low like that corn. And yet, to my amazement, after just a few days those cornstalks sprang back to life! Each stalk, leaning toward the sun, found the strength to stand tall again. And there is my life lesson. Spiritually, I find my strength in the storms of life as I lean toward the SON. In him I find strength to stand once more, strength to go on, to grow, to hopefully stand stronger than before.

So, I take my seat in the front row, and watch and listen for all the Lord has to teach me. I take my seat, and watch the garden grow...