Always a Sower

There is something about spring that inspires in me a sense of excitement; a feeling of being called outdoors to experience a rebirth in a world that has been held dormant in snow and ice over the long winter months. Perhaps it is the immigrant farmer ancestry in my blood that calls me to become a sower once more. I think this is precisely why Easter comes around every year at this time. How appropriately that God and the church work in harmony to teach us about our faith and the good works we are called to perform each day of our lives.

Any life long farmer will tell you that it is more than just planting seeds in the ground and then sitting back to watch what comes up; it is about cultivating, fertilizing and being mindful of what is occurring during the growing process that can make or break a profitable harvest. There are times when we have to adjust how much effort we put into the crop and when we can rest easy for a while as the rain and summer sun work their wonders. Rest assured, there is more behind this natural process than what ends up on the kitchen table. Even as the last row of corn or beans is gathered up into storage, we are called to carry on the process in our hearts and in our communities. Though there may be snow on the rooftop and ice on the pond; we must carry on with each other what Christ instilled in us with his teaching and death on the cross. We come to know the pains and suffering of life as well as the joy of knowing we are sent to go forth and share the good news as his apostles did. What worry have we “if Christ is for us, who can be against us?” But we also know that despite our efforts, bad times will inevitably come. So, the question arises, “what are we to do?”

Our survival instincts normally kick in about this time and we tend to go with whatever means sustained us in the past. But there will come a time when these tried and true methods fail to satisfy; that is why we need to look somewhere else to get us through. This cannot begin to occur unless we surrender ourselves and allow faith in God to open new avenues of opportunity. Yes, it is good to appreciate the good we were able to do in the past, but in order to survive we must look to the future with new eyes which means we have to let go and let God be our guide.

So, what am I driving at here? Well, to begin with, I believe we need to acknowledge that change is inevitable and that we have to be willing to think differently. After all, we are more than the property we live on or the building we inhabit. Our children are born, grow and learn by our example how to be successful or just plain endure whatever life deals out. We must continue to be sowers no matter how bad things get and do whatever it takes to survive. If that means changing our whole approach, so be it, life will go on and all will stand to gain from the process. Witt.