Planting Time

By Doug Harrell

Mitchell County

As I sit here getting ready to write this Life Lessons for the coming month of May I look out my window and see the trees on the hill in front of our home beginning to turn green.  The leaves are bursting out, spring flowers are beginning to bloom, the yard is freshly mowed and the banks have just been gone over with the weed eater.  The earth is coming alive after a long winter’s nap and seasons are changing in front of my eyes.

On the farm May has always been planting month, the gardens are being prepared, the ground is being prepared for planting and there is excitement in the air for the coming season.  Our lives are the same way, we go through different seasons and some things change, while others stay the same!  The principle of sowing seeds never changes, when we sow bountifully, odds are that we will also reap bountiful crops.  On the other hand, if we are sparing with our sowing, our harvest will be light.  Another thing that never changes is that we will reap what we sow.  The seed will return perfect replicas of what is planted.  If we plant sweet corn, we will harvest sweet corn.  If we plant field corn, we will harvest field corn.  While both crops may be corn, the flavor and texture of the two crops are very different. While the hogs will like either one to eat, the people, you and I, will much prefer the sweet corn.

Our lives are much like the seed we plant, only we don’t just plant in the springtime, for us individually, planting time is year-round!  Also, the harvesting is year-round and if we are planting seeds of love, faith, and kindness we will reap those very things in return.  On the other hand, if we are sowing seeds of discord, hate, fear, and dishonesty, we will also reap these in return.  Another thing that we should always look at and remember is the parable of the seed in the Bible.  If we sow seed in the good ground the crop will be more plentiful and will return 100-fold of what we sowed.   The best and most fertile soil in our lives is around our kitchen table.  What kind of seed are you sowing there?  When you are with those closest to you, what are you putting in the ground?  Are you watering the new seed, are you hoeing the weeds out daily with a loving touch, are you caring for your garden so that the harvest might be great?

Not only is it important to do this around the kitchen table, but be conscious of what you are sowing wherever you may be walking in life.  You may be making a deposit or planting a seed in their minds that will have a life-changing impact on them.  Always be looking for a way to have a positive impact on every person you are blessed to come in contact with.  To some, you may be the only bright spot in their life that day.  Make sure that you are planting those seeds of hope, faith, and love.  Most of all, plant the seed of salvation through the blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  That seed can spring into life eternal for some soul that you may touch!

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”  2 Corinthians 9:6 KJV

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Doug Harrell is a life-long resident of Mitchell County, Owner of Harrell Hill Farms, a member of Bear Creek Baptist Church, and former publisher of Blue Ridge Christian News. You can find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/doug.harrell.77

You can read more good Christian News from Doug Harrell HERE

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