I've decided that I love, love, love SPRING! It’s such a wonderful season of new life. I never really appreciated it until I had a home of my own, and could watch things come to life.
I especially love the perennials which bloom each year without fail. Tucked under mounds of snow and out of sight for months, and yet when spring arrives.... new life!
This week my Eternal Iris bloomed. My sister-in-law gave one to each member of our family five years ago when my grandma died. Each year when it blooms, I'm reminded of the very special bond I shared with one of the most important people in my life. Although she's gone now, this lovely flower reminds me each spring of a very special lady.
Miss you, Gram!
Ok..... I'm gonna get a bit theological this morning. Maybe appropriate for a Sunday. I haven't quite got my brain around this, but the principle is remarkable.
The first mention of seeds in scripture is right at the beginning, Genesis 1:11:
"..the fruit tree yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself..."
The idea is that the seed needed to reproduce the same plant is found inside itself.
Yet the root word for seed in Hebrew is "zera," which means to sow, to scatter, to disseminate. So....the only way for the plant to be reproduced is for the seed to be scattered, disseminated to good soil, where the new plant can take root and grow.
The seed is within.... yet must be cast out and scattered to fulfill its purpose.
How appropriate then are Jesus' words in Luke 8:11? "The seed is the Word of God." God plants his word within us, so that we can disseminate it and bear fruit, reproducing the life of Christ in others.
Hmmm..... I wonder what this means for me. Maybe that I need be always aware that God plants his word in me for a reason. It's not just for me. Rather, it's so that I will be the Lord's soil, if you will. Created to bear fruit.
I planted tomatoes and radishes in peat pots this spring, to get an early start on my vegetable garden. What has impacted me through this process is the incredible dynamic of the seed. Of course, I've known since I was a child the truth of planting: put the seed in the ground, cover it with soil, water it, and it will grow. But to watch it up close and personal is amazing!
I took tiny seeds, each the size of the head of a pin, and dropped them in these small peat pots. And.... just as the seed packet said.... within a few days up popped seedlings!
As God's perfect timing would have it, Pastor preached this past Sunday on seeds. And, I began to realize just how much scripture has to say about this. In the familiar passage from Luke, Jesus uses the analogy of the seed to make a point about faith. We can accomplish powerful things for the kingdom of God if we have faith as small as a mustard seed. Think about it. A tiny seed planted in good soil, watered regularly, can grow into a plant that produces fruit and feeds my family, or a tree that is large enough to house a nest of birds. My beautiful 200-year old maple tree began as a seed. Absolutely incredible!! 
I especially love the perennials which bloom each year without fail. Tucked under mounds of snow and out of sight for months, and yet when spring arrives.... new life!
