I need to start out by telling you a story of how my New Years Eve began this morning. This morning Lilly was kind of grumbling in her crib, but I was still in that half asleep state until I heard this sound "ssssssssssss" - Lilly had removed her diaper and was peeing on her crib mattress. Out w/ the old. Scott tells me this is funny. Sort of - or at least now. As she was very proud of herself. He said, look, she's that much closer to potty training, she didn't like being wet. Yep. Good perspective . . . now that I'm awake that is.
So let me leave you on this beautiful sunny New Years Eve w/ these thoughts that I shared w/ my E-Bible Study group. We are studying the book "The Shack" which I highly recommend you read this coming year. Here goes as I wrote it to the group this comment by God in the book:
I also highlighted on page 187 "So when you don't hear me the first time, I'm not frustrated or disappointed. I'm thrilled. Only forty-six more times to go. And that first time will be a building block to construct a bridge of healing that one day - that today - you will walk across."
Isn't that how it is even w/ us when we are planting seeds of faith. So maybe our neighbor doesn't get it right away. Doesn't understand why we follow the Lord, but they see something in us that turns into a seed that is planted in them. And then w/ each seed planted we bring them closer to knowing the Lord. It is so true in our faith walk and bringing others to Jesus.
I thought that paragraph was cool. As it reminded me just like God - we need to be patient and let God's work fall into place and try not to be discouraged when we don't get instant results. - just keep walking the walk and let the Lord use you and others to keep planting seeds in people's lives day by day as it's all worth it. Like my friend Jillian who came to the Lord through befriending me, her silly Bible thumping neighbor - cause that's how she saw us. To her Scott & I were these people always having churchy friends over and her husband, Kevin, told us later that they always hoped that they didn't get invited to our pizza gatherings. Then one day after Jillian and I both had small babies she started taking walks w/ me and started realizing I wasn't just a freak and she wanted to know more about my faith and then she ultimately had some other stuff happen w/ others speaking into her and her husbands lives as well and then they came to the Lord and their ministry is huge now. Meanwhile at the same time I was trying my best to plant seeds in my other neighbor who was very much against my pushing my Christianity walk on her. She was a friend who I was and am very close to so I had this sense of urgency for her to have what I'd found in Jesus. Eventually I realized through the Jillian experience that I may have planted a seed or two in my friend, but someone else would probably be the one to plant the seeds that seal the deal and eventually bring her to the Lord. I'm still waiting, as Christianity is something we don't talk about anymore but I do believe the Lord will use someone else to plant the final seeds that draw her close. Anyway, I learned this from the Jillian experience. As here is how the Jillian story played out. Jillian and her husband did start coming to church and ultimately accepted the Lord. So later one day one of Jill's closest friends said to me - we were so glad you and your husband came into their lives -we've been trying to speak into their lives forever. But God used you guys. Scott & I got to plant the final seeds. So you see - it doesn't matter where you are in the seed planting business - You just hope and pray that you are leaving seeds behind in your walk and they are taking people one step closer to the Lord. Even when we don't see it.
Happy Seed Planting in the year to come!
Blessings,
Julie & Scott & the gang
Blessed, Blessed, Blessed
12 years ago