In the last few years of God using me to publish “Today’s Good News” I have recognized how He orchestrates His Way. It begins with an idea (that I now know is His whisper), or a memory or a verse, it’s what someone says that leads to a message.  It’s a word of two someone says that leads to a morning post. One of the unique characteristics is that they usually appear. insignificant.

It’s been 10 or 12 years ago when I spoke to a conference of Developmental Disability Providers. Having worked in this profession for 30+ years I knew leaders & staff experience burn out. It can be emotionally draining. The stress can leave a person asking themselves, “Am I making a difference?” 12 years later this event set the stage for God to speak to one cold & forgotten man I didn’t even know.

God gave me the idea to use the seed analogy, the same one Jesus used, that one person can make a difference. This idea led to a string of ideas. I contacted my cousin in Carlisle who farms the land my Grandpa farmed in the 1930’s. He provided me with soil from one of grandpa’s fields and rice harvested from his farm. At the conference I gave each participant a bag that contained only ONE grain of rice (as shown in the picture).

We are like the single grain of rice that appears to be insignificant but when planted in the right condition we will produce 100-fold. Our lives, if we choose to plant them well, when properly watered & cared for will influence 100+ people. But it does not stop there. If a farmer plants 1 bushel of rice on 100 acres he will harvest 10,000 bushels. I call this God math. To God, everyone counts.

But God was not through with His idea. Two years ago, I was speaking to a group of men about significance…the significance that only God gives us. I used the seed analogy and passed out a bag with a seed to each man. I forgot about that night until a few months ago when a man came up to me and asked if I remembered the night I spoke and passed the bag of seed? He then told me about how the seed worked for him. He was standing in his garage depressed, alone & unwanted. It was cold in the garage that night, so he put his coat on. As he slipped his hands into his pocket he felt something…it was that little bag with the seed. He remembered, like the seed, he was important to God…that God had orchestrated that night 2 years before… just for this lonely & cold night. Little did I know God was using a conference talk to touch a total stranger’s heart years later. This is how God works.

Question, are you planting your seed? The seed of our life will never have any results if it remains in the bag. The seed works when united with dirt, water, air & the sun (Son).

 In Matthew 13 Jesus tells the “Parable of the Sower”, using the seed, the types of soil and the results to illustrate the Law of the Farm. I love how He ended the parable in verse 9 with, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” I translate His words into a phrase my dad would use to me. He would look at me, with “that” look and say, “Did you hear what I said?” I knew there would be no more instructions or warnings.