A while back, we bought some wildflower seeds. I let the boys pick little packets of different varieties. The one I chose, however, was a larger bag of assorted seeds. Asher was excited to get started sewing them. As my firstborn, he has a very definite sense of order so he began opening packets and sorting them into little styrofoam cups. I winced a little when I saw this because I knew the chances were pretty high that we would drop or spill these cups before we ever got them outside. But, he was proud of his work. So I dutifully admired it. And as I glanced down the row of neatly ordered cups, I began peaking into them. Each cup for its own seeds. Until I got to the assorted cup. Asher asked me why they all looked different and I explained they will all make different kinds of flowers.

It’s a beautiful visual, really. And I couldn’t help but smile because I had already been thinking about doing a series on ‘Seeds’, so this felt like a God-wink of affirmation. Aren’t we so like those mixed up seeds in the assorted cup? And aren’t we, too, planting and sowing different types of seeds in this life? It may take different forms… the produce won’t be the same and the process won’t be the same, either. But nonetheless, something grows from our lives. As fruit grows from seeds.

And just like anything else, you’ll reap exactly what you sow. Galatians 5:22 says, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” If these are the fruits, you’ll have to sow these very things to see your return.

You can plant seeds anywhere. In your home and family, at your work, amongst your friends, community, and truthfully, the world.

If that’s too overwhelming for you, I’ll start a little closer to home. How about friendship? As a mother you can’t help but look at the innocence before you and think about their future. Who will their friends be? Will they be surrounded by good hearts that pour into them? Will they be encouraged and inspired? Will they be loved? Shown kindness? Experience humility and patience and grace through the sweetness of friendship? And then I think, “Will HE be that friend?” - Lord, I pray they will. I pray they are surrounded by them and that they are them. Good hearts. It’s an earnest prayer. But there’s a big piece in it we play a part in. We have to sow good seeds ourselves. We have to invest in time and be intentional about the friends we have and allow into the lives of our kids. We must call out moments of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We have to exemplify these things. How do we do that? By having an active and intimate relationship with Christ. By being in the word. By modeling our relationship with God so it can overflow into our relationships with friends.

Friendships are so important in life.. They grow us and sustain us in every season. I pray today these are the things our children see and know. I pray that one day, they will have their own. And above anything else, I pray they have this because we sowed good seed into our friendships and into their futures.

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