Lessons From My Quiet Time...

On January 1 I started reading The One Year Bible. I've really enjoyed getting back into it. While I was pregnant I read the entire New Testament. Let me tell you, I do not have a bit of a chance of becoming a Bible scholar. It was tough to say the least. But I'm back on it again. The One Year Bible gives you an Old Testament selection and a New Testament selection each day. I'm currently working through Genesis, Matthew, Psalms, and Proverbs. This week a parable REALLY got my attention in a way it hadn't before.

Matthew 13:3-8 and 19-23

"Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn't have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted....The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God's word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God's word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!"

My desire, as a mother, is to raise my child in a Christian household and instill in him a heart for the Lord. I've had such a tough time balancing it all. And I'd like to say that it's just been since James has been born, but I've always had a tough time balancing it all.

I am the seed that was thrown in the thorns. I have deep roots, having been raised in the Christian faith, but I'm constantly battling life. I'd venture to say that we're all one seed or another and that we probably all cycle through being different seeds at different times. My desire is to become the seed that produces fruit. I'm working on it. Which seed are you?