SEED-PLANTING DAY

 

 

 

 



Yesterday my daughter, her husband and my grandkids went to the Mount St. Helen volcano area.  The kids saw much, were greatly touched and impressed.

When I was there years ago, what touched ME was the way the flowers came up after many stretches of time since the mountain was destroyed, thousands of feet.  Beauty arose... and truly touched my heart.

Today and yesterday and days before that, while here in the Northwest, the Lord has poured His Seed upon me, my heart to reach out and pour seed onto hearts of others.  Praying with/for people on the streets, in the rest areas, on the rivers.  Simply dropped into my life, momentarily.  I don't know the consequences, but certainly hope we will meet in heaven and truly know each other forever and ever in eternity.

YES, in the photo, the volcano rocks are obvious, the dead pieces of the trees in front of the eyes, and then the glory of the Lord breaking through miraculously.  What else can we ever do?

SEED PLANTING -- SOFT AND HARD

                                NEW HOPE UGANDA

Huge, beautiful, flowery trees... lots of seed.

Not long after our return from Uganda in February, 1991, knowing we were “called” to be there in the future, we didn’t know where we’d live, what we’d do,  so we began to make some plans, and prep and, in my case, focus on learning some basics that would help us.

And, among everything else, I wanted to become very informed about gardening, so I took classes based on horticulture at UNO. 

UNO class at Nebraska Prairie

I learned so much about seeds.  For instance, some seed is easily and gently blown, gently touches, and seems to grow almost by magic, even though I rarely use that word.  Other seed-growth takes significant effort, barely blows, but does break through and grows beautifully in time.

Costa Rica Rio Negro, hard seed, "hard" monkeys

Here are my personal seed examples.    I've mentioned before, many times, that I was basically a 1960's street-attitude kid.  Very rough on the outside, very hard seed.  Over a period of 2 or 3 years, God used people in the work or living places in Seattle and Tacoma, friends [such as Susie] or through the Catholic, Lutheran, and Baptist churches to break through that outer shell.

Here are two God-seed-planting examples.  Both unusual.  One man lightly scattered seed into my heart, the other forced, SLAMMED, it in.
 

1) I was doing my delivery job ... carrying title insurance papers to companies in downtown Seattle.  In one large building,  I was waiting for an elevator.  A tall man walked through the lobby and, seeing me with an armload of business-related envelopes, stepped beside me.  “Excuse me.  I am trying to find this building.”  He showed me the address.  “Do you know where it might be?”  I immediately recognized it and told him exactly what direction he should go – only a couple blocks from where we were.  When I finished, he touched me on the shoulder and said, very gently, “Thank you.  God bless you.”

Seed was planted.  Soft, gentle seed ... that has never left my life. [I truly want to meet that man in heaven.  But, was he only an angel God dropped into my life to begin a change?]

THEN, there was the other one.

In Seattle, I usually walked as directly as possible so I’d get the paperwork delivered quickly enough to the companies who needed it for their property.  However, on one of the main corners downtown, near 3rd and Madison, seed was planted that scared the tar out of me.  A Black man, wearing a white suit, stood on the corner, holding his Bible, and hollering:   "If you don't know Jesus, you’re going to go to hell.”

My reaction?  He could be heard more than a block away, and I would walk a couple blocks out of the way to avoid him.

But, yes, the seed was planted.  I never forgot those words. The seed was planted deeply in me, whether I would ever had desired that.  The spiritual planting by them and many others over short times and long years, came forth April 15, 1966.  That day the Lord officially, drawing me to such a blessed life, drawing me to my Salvation through Him.  Been there forever, will be forever.

Now, am I a good seed planter?  I truly, truly try to be a soft one that gently flows into an even hard life.  And that usually has been the case.

However, in Uganda, because you can be as frank as needed, I have, a few times, spoken very bluntly.  For instance, when I had met someone who was worshiping the wrong god, acting in witchcraft, heading for prostitution or addiction or tribal death, basically, I said the same thing.  “Straighten up now.  Turn to the Lord.  He has called you.  And if you do not, you may be in hell.”  They understand that. [Do I know for sure if they have turned to Him?  No, I don’t know.  I left Uganda.  But they DID know the Word, before I came into their lives, and they heard it again when I was dealing with this.  Hopefully, they will be my friends in heaven.]
 
Seed planting is a good God-job.  Ain’t always easy, aren’t always loved.  But the consequence can truly be worth the hard work.

Light-seeded flowers at Mt. St. Helens in the hard, hard lava.

Now, I am a seed planter, a seed-blower, a seed-crusher-into person.  Fit into any of the “seed” aspects.  And I want to be in that role, one way or another, for my whole life as a servant of the Lord.                            Period.

And I am grateful for the ones who the Lord used to place seed in me.  And it continues... I must continue to grow, COLORFULLY.

THE GRINCH and INKEEPER'S DAUGHTER

As I've shared before, when I was 14, in October, 1959, my English teacher in Tacoma, handed me a book and told me she wanted me to memorize it, that I had a month.  So, I did.  And, as you would recognize, it was the book "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".  It had been written only 2 years earlier, so wasn't well known then.  My teacher, Mrs. Andersen, wanted me to do it in the English classes and the drama classes, in particular. [I was also asked to do it -- and did it -- on a children's TV show, WHICH, in those days, was NOTHING like it is today, believe me.  All that occurred, for me, was introduction and a camera guy who stood in front of me, eating an apple,  and just doing what was necessary to have me shown on TV, but there was nobody, no words in front of me in case I'd freak out and forget them, no one paying attention.  Scary!!]   Anyhow, that's when it began.

Since then, in these 53 years, I have done it hundreds of times in many places.  Schools, churches, parties, rest homes, hospitals, assisted living groups, and many others.  About 30 years ago, Judith at Calvary Lutheran Church where I attended here in Omaha, and had done the Grinch often,  made a costume for me.  A cape that was brown, junky-looking cloth on one side, and Santa-y on the other side.  And an ugly brown hat at the beginning of the Grinch and changing to a Santa hat when flipping the cape. Have had it all these years and worn it every time.  Even took it to Uganda in case there would be a chance to do it there... and, yep, did it.

It has been a real blessing for me.

THEN, when my daughter was 5, so that would put me in the 38-years-ago range of time, a book was dropped into my lap about Christmas and our Lord's birth.  It is called "The Innkeeper's Daughter."  I loved it.  One of the main reasons it hit me is because the girl's attitude towards life was just like ME, and her way of looking and behaving was much as I did.  WELL, when Renae was in 3rd grade, and I was going to do the Grinch in her class, it was worked out that I could read/share this other story.  I did.

In the next year or so, I memorized it and began to do it with the Grinch.  Grinch first, Innkeeper's Daughter second... and that way I would leave the room with the seed of God planted in the hearts of kids.  And then I also began doing it any time, anywhere I did the Grinch.  I didn't offer an option; just said these were my stories.

Seed-planting was my goal.

One huge blessing:  in 1980, I was asked to do it at a classroom.  The teacher is someone I had met when I was in real estate.  So, I went to the elementary school.  In her class, I did both.  Now, in those days, it was still considered OK, and I'd done it several times, in various schools, BUT the principal could become upset and, basically, kick me out and nail the teacher.  I was a little nervous about that this particular time, but the teacher insisted and I went ahead with it.  WELL, the principal showed up just as I finished, and, basically, asked about it.  We told her.  She immediately contacted the school teachers and broke the afternoon into 2 full assembly meetings, 300 kids each, and I performed both stories.  It so blessed my heart to do it; I've never forgotten that afternoon.

This was a newspaper article in 1981 when I was doing it at a hospital for kids.  Pretty cool, huh?

Know you couldn't read it, but the title and photo are cool.

Since then, in the last few years, Protestant and Catholic schools have had me to them, but I can't do "Innkeeper's daughter" any more in public schools.

NOW, after 53 years, I think I'm done.  My memorization doesn't work quite as well as it used to.  I struggle a bit. Even after all these years of knowing both of them perfectly, I get stuck.  Dave, or someone, is there with the words, and will help, but if it happens more than once for each one, I'm annoyed. I don't want to have the listeners side-tracked while I'm suddenly losing my words.

Does it make me happy to stop?  Uh, Uh!!!  BUT, do I know I've blessed and made many laugh at my acting as the Grinch?  YEP!! And, do I know the Lord used me to plant lots and lots of "seed" in the hearts of hundreds and hundreds of people, from pre-school kids to folks in their 80s and 90s?  

Yes.  

And that gives me hope.