Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. -1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)
Something has been eating my zinnia sprouts. After the frosts of winter had finished I knelt down and dug into the earth. I planted at least one hundred seeds. Zinnias are hardy and grow well in the Texas heat. They require very little care and the blooms are joyful, bright, and cheery when the languishing heat of summer sets in.
Two seeds out of one hundred have survived the beast that devoured their friends.
It is tempting to regret the effort. I was not planning to sow seed as feed for wild animals. These were seeds of hope after the dreary winter passed. Flowers are a luxury winter rarely affords us. Two blooming plants instead of one hundred hardly seems fair.
In the past I have cut zinnia blooms and delivered them to friends. It seems like lavish grace to share flowers from one’s own garden. Money can purchase lovely bouquets, but it can’t buy flowers that are the result of your own loving hand. Many people don’t have their own gardens in the city, which makes the gift even sweeter.
What Jesus follower can look at this and not think of His words about seeds that were stolen before they can grow?
The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. -Luke 8:12
Someone wants to steal the word of God from our lives. Like that animal that has taken what I planted, the devil wants to take our joy, our patience, our hope, our faith, our love, and our peace.
I sowed seeds to grow blessings for others. The word of God is meant to grow in such abundance in our hearts that its beautiful blooms spill out into the lives of those around us. Had I only sown two seeds instead of one hundred, I would probably have nothing to show for the effort. Should we only sow the word one day in the week, for a few minutes of our day, we can expect the same bleak harvest.
Fill yourself with His truth and you will find you are saved from all kinds of hopelessness, fear, and darkness. Sow His word in abundance. Precious flowers of faith will grow and sustain you when the long, arduous heat rolls in to tire you out. Others will look and see that your life does not wilt when the pressure of life rises.
Your flourishing heart will proclaim the value of a life devoted to His word. Many will begin to tend the gardens of their own souls accordingly.
Next year, I am planting at least three hundred zinnias. The blooms that survive will remind me that you can never sow enough good seeds in life, and that every bloom is a miraculous blessing.
