It’s that time of year again. The sun is shining and the weather is warming up. Spending time outside is much more enjoyable this time of year in the Midwest compared to the long winter. Farmers are itching to get into the field and gardeners into their gardens. It won’t be long before we will be enjoying fresh produce from the farmer’s market and the beauty of the flowers covering the landscape. All of these wonderful plants that provide us with aesthetics and delicious food to eat started from a little seed (or bulb in some cases). These seeds were planted in hope and faith that the plant will grow big and strong. The process for the seed to grow into a mature plant can take only a few weeks like lettuce or a few years like a tree. In any case, it doesn’t happen over night. It is a journey that takes trust, patience, and perseverance.
With this website we are hoping to plant seeds of faith that with some trust and patience will grow and prosper in those that read our blogs.
This is our first blog post and our desires for all of our works are to:
- share about the triumphs and tribulations that daily life brings
- provide encouragement through the Word of God
- teach something about agriculture and this beautiful world we live in
We hope to be vulnerable with our personal lives in hopes that our stories will relate to others and provide them with hope and encouragement through our passion for the wonderful word of God. Although life has changed a lot over the centuries and each day has its ups and downs, the guidance found in the Bible is still just as relevant today as it was when it was written. We hope that more people, including ourselves, will become more familiar with the words God has gifted to us.
Coming from rural communities in the Midwest agriculture and the outdoors have been a huge part of our lives. For me personally, growing up on a farm and becoming a High School Agriculture Teacher has shown me the great impact agriculture has on our world and everyone’s lives. Every day I see more of God’s handiwork in the world around us, especially out in nature. We have all been given a life in this amazing world, and we can grow together in our faith and knowledge to better ourselves each day.
The tagline of our company is inspired by the faith a farmer has when planting seeds and the parable of the sower:
A farmer must first get seeds for their field, but seeds are expensive. Sure the little packs of seeds you see in the garden section of the local hardware store as spring approaches seem reasonable at $0.97 a pack. However, the farmers spends around $100+ per acre (farmers plant hundreds to thousands of acres) causing them to invest thousands of dollars of their own money to buy the seeds. Then they spend many long hours preparing their equipment and the soil to carefully place the seeds in the ground.
The farmer must patiently wait several days before they even see the tiniest sprout emerge from the ground. Just like Jesus explained in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23), the farmer must choose the right ground for the seed to sprout and prosper. If the farmer sows seeds on the path the birds will eat it, in rocky ground there will not be enough soil for the plant to survive, or among the weeds the plants will be choked, instead the farmer must choose the good soil so it can produce a bountiful crop that is shared with many others.
Even in good soil the plant has a long way to go before it will be providing the farmer with a crop. The farmers know the journey ahead is long and the path has many unexpected twists and turns. Pests such as insects, weeds, and diseases can cause severe damage to the crop that require farmers to decide how to manage their fields. This often brings upon more expense for the farmer having to purchase various forms of pest controls. Even close to harvest, they can lose their entire crop and everything they have worked so hard to produce. The weather can change dramatically destroying their crop through floods, winds, fire, or hail where there is absolutely nothing they can do to protect their crop. However, the farmer still plants and cares for their seeds in faith that the seeds will survive and provide them with a bountiful harvest.
Even if the crop makes it to harvest and the farmer successfully gets the crop harvested, it still does not guarantee them a profit. The price of the crop in the market constantly fluctuates based on demand and world events. Although they were not certain in the beginning if they would make a profit the farmers still diligently planted and cared for their seeds because the farmer has a passion for what his career and creating products that help feed the world.
Planting seeds is a risky venture with the possibility of failure. It requires our own investment of time and sometimes money for the seeds to prosper, but the ultimate resources are faith and trust in God that the seeds will germinate and create a prosperous harvest. This faith and trust will help the farmer get through all of the weather and pests that try to get into the way of his end goal. So must we with our end goal of making it to Heaven and help others get to know Jesus so that they may too get to Heaven.
As it states in Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV):
“19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
We must help plant the seeds of faith in the hearts of those we meet, then have faith and hope the seeds grow and eventually produce even more seeds. Trusting that God is in control of all situations. We want to be farmers who sow their seed on good soil, so we can grow strongly in our faith and produce a bountiful harvest by sharing our faith with others like Jesus said in Matthew 13:1-23. Just like the farmer, we may not see the fruits of our labor right away or until we reach the end in Heaven, but through faith and perseverance we still work hard to fulfill God’s desire for us to share His love for us. The love of God is a chain reaction that can spread across this whole world. All it takes is to plant some seeds of faith.
God Bless.
