My Seediest Post Ever

In this world of achievers and go-getters, do you ever wonder what difference you could possibly make? Do you feel too average, too ordinary, too old, too invisible? 

If so, I’d encourage you to eat an apple, and when you get to the core, stop and look at a seed.

The miracle of one little seed. 

Have you ever stopped to think about what can result from a tiny apple seed?

One little seed can produce an apple tree. An apple tree, over it’s lifetime, generally produces between 7,500 and 12,000 apples. And a typical apple contains 10 to 12 seeds. Each of those seeds could become a tree yielding 7,500 to 12,000 apples. Yes, the numbers quickly become mind boggling.

One little seed really does represent a miracle in the making.

And what does an apple seed have to do with you? 

Plenty.

Each one of us holds the seeds of potential. Each person is unique…with different fingerprints…different passions…different promise. How many ideas or dreams do you discount, thinking “oh, that will never work.” How will you know unless you try?

Whether you are 8 or 80, you can make a difference in this world. Thomas Edison once said: “If we all did the things we are really capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” That includes YOU! 

As you step into 2015, what seeds will you be sowing?

It could be the seed of a dream. Perhaps it’s a message that you feel called to share, a book you are determined to write or a movement you are trying to launch. Perhaps your seed is as simple and beautiful as loving your neighbor. Encouraging someone who is alone. Comforting someone who is grieving. Doing something thoughtful for one who can’t return the favor.

Whatever that little seed is within you, let 2015 be the year it gets sowed!

Here are a few tips for aspiring seed sowers:

1. Our job is just to sow the seeds. We can’t make them sprout. And some won’t.
2. Generally, before seeds sprout, they must be in dark, damp soil. Perhaps that’s a picture of your life right now. You might be in a difficult season. A time which seems hopeless, unbearable or endless. It’s not. Seasons always change. Seeds sprout. And just as the seed ultimately benefits from time in the dark, damp soil, you will eventually see the purpose for your pain.
3.  Don’t buy the lie that because your dream is tiny, it can’t make a big impact. Think about what can result from a little apple seed. The same type of yield can come from your little dream or the smallest loving action. Oswald Chambers once wrote, “It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things.”
4.  Guard against the comparison game. Yes, some people are called to launch a movement which circles the globe. Maybe your “seed” is smaller. That doesn’t mean it’s less significant. Perhaps it’s showing love to a hurting family or visiting an elderly shut-in. It could be telling someone the potential you see in them. And you may not know the impact of your actions in this lifetime. But you will gain great satisfaction from knowing that you sowed seeds of love and kindness by using your gifts and abilities.
5. Ultimately, each of us will give an account to God for what we did with the seeds of potential He placed within us. And the best reward of all will be hearing Him say: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” 

So go sow those seeds. Pursue those dreams. Dare to fail. Make a difference. You’re here for a purpose, and your seeds of promise really matter.