It was a week or so after we had planted the soybean field that I noticed the tire tracks across the field. The new bean sprouts had burst through the soil…except where I had driven across the newly planted field. Yep, those seeds never came up. When I drove across the field I thought, “What could it hurt…I’m in a hurry.”

I find myself still cutting across the field…in a hurry…to what? Going through life “trying” to do it all…taking short cuts, not thinking about what my response is doing to the people around me. In short, I don’t listen well.

Listen to what Jesus said. “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” Matthew 13:3-8

My dad was a master farmer. He “intentionally” worked the soil to make it like fine powder before he planted. He wanted every seed to count. So, how can I put into practice what my dad taught me? When someone is talking, “shut up & listen with my heart.” Asking questions is like working the soil to make it easier for the sprout to come up. After all, Jesus did this very thing time and again…He asked questions that went right to the person’s heart. When you think about it, the final answer is the same, a person finds Jesus and claims Him as their personal Savior, He is Enough. He is “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, He will guard your hearts and minds” Paul was speaking to in Philippians 4:7. Jesus is “THE NO-MATTER-WHAT” Savior…Friend…King of Kings.