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| Photo by Laura Moody - Dec 1, 2017 - Tree located in Franklin, TN |
My friend Nadeeda put this article together for our church newsletter years ago. It was so good, I thought to share it with the masses especially since it mentions Jesus, whose birth we celebrate this month.
Happy birthday to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! He is a miracle along with the love he creates to be shared between all people. Experience true love today!
Growing always - Laura
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March 1997
Dear Friends,
I sit here at my kitchen table listening to the heavy rain falling and so glad it's not snow! I'm looking forward to spring. Is winter over? Could spring be around the corner? I hope so! I love spring and always look forward to celebrating Easter. The day Jesus Christ arose and gave LIFE! The miracle of Easter - the miracle of life.
Max Lucado said, "If you want to see a miracle try this. Take a seed the size of a freckle. Put it under several inches of dirt. Give it enough water, light, fertilizer. And get ready. A mountain will be moved. It doesn't matter that the ground is a zillion times the weight of the seed. The seed will push it back."
Every Spring, dreamers around the world plant tiny hopes in overturned soil. And every spring, their hopes press against impossible odds and blossom. Never underestimate the power of a seed.
Do you know the power of a seed sown in fertile soil? "Those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness." How good are you at sowing seeds of peace?
Jesus modeled this. We don't see him settling many disputes of negotiating conflicts. But we do see him cultivating inward harmony through acts of love.
- washing the feet of men he knew would betray him
- having lunch with a corrupt tax official
- honoring the sinful women whom society had scorned
He built bridges by healing hurts. He prevented conflict by touching the interior. He cultivated harmony by sowing seeds of peace in fertile hearts.
Do me a favor. Pause for a moment and think about who makes up your world. Take a stroll through the gallery of faces that are significant to you. Mentally flip through the scrapbook of snapshots featuring those you deal with often.
Can you see their faces?
Want to see a miracle? Plant a word of love heart-deep in a person's life. Nurture it with a smile and a prayer and watch what happens. Sowing seeds of peace - it works! You don't know why it works; you just know it does. Seeds are planted, and top soils of hurt are shoved away.
Don't forget the principle. Never underestimate the power of a seed.
God didn't. When his kingdom was ravaged and his people had forgotten his name, he planted his seed. When the soil of the human heart had grown crusty, he planted his seed. When religion had become a ritual and the temple a trading post, he planted his seed.
Want to see a miracle? Watch him as he places the seed of his own self in the fertile womb of a Jewish girl. Up it grew, like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in a dry and sterile ground.
The seed spent a lifetime pushing back the stones that tried to keep it underground. The seed made a ministry out of shoving away the rock that cluttered his father's soil.
- The stones of legalism that burdened backs.
- The stones of oppression that broke bones.
- The stones of prejudice that fenced out the needy.
But it was the final stone that proved to be the supreme test of the seed. The stone of death - rolled by humans and sealed by Satan in front of the tomb. For a moment it appeared the seed would be stuck in the earth. For a moment, it looked like this rock was too big to be budged.
But then, somewhere in the heart of the earth, the seed of God stirred, shoved, and sprouted. The ground trembled, and the rock of the tomb tumbled. And the flower of Easter blossomed.
Never underestimate the power of a seed.
With Love, Nadeeda
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