Its springtime! That means summer is coming! For those of us in the northern states it is an exciting time because we have days when the sun is warm and teases of summer between the rain and snow. Spring always makes me think of flowers, after all April showers bring May flowers, right?

Recently our youth group decided to do a plant sale as a fund raiser. I have not started plants from seeds since I was a kid. I remember now why I just by plants. Growing flowers from a seed takes patience…so much patience. I have turned my front porch into a green house, it is warm and steamy out there. Every morning, I wake up and go to the front porch to water the hundreds of seeds we have started. There are nine, nine plants out of almost 400. It has only been a little over a week since we planted them, and yes, some plants take 10-14 days to germinate from the seeds…hence the patience.

I found myself disappointed every time I would open the door and only see one little sprout, or one more sprout. Until this morning. This morning, I did not wake up to tons of sprouts, (or seedlings maybe they are called) but I woke up with a new perspective.

I remembered a passage of scripture in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9. “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together for the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.”

Our job was to plant the seeds and to water them. That is our portion of getting the flowers to grow. That is our job. Then we wait, because ultimately, it is God who makes those seeds grow. Worrying about the won’t make them grow any more. Talking to them until I am blue in the face won’t make them grow any more. I plant the seeds, I water the seeds, then I let God be God. I am literally watching that passage of scripture play out on my porch. How amazing is that?

Here is the best part about this revelation for me. I struggle with this in a big way. I want more than anything to watch people come into a relationship with Jesus Christ. I am not talking praying a prayer, I am talking radical transformation of their hearts and lives. I want them to love Him, obey Him, serve Him. I know what He has done in my heart and life, and I know what He can do in theirs.

It is so hard for me to not carry the weight of people what appear in my mind to be rejecting the Word of God. I take it very personal when those in my life that I have sown and watered into go down the wrong path with God. It is especially when it is your children or spouse, a family member or dear friend. Someone you have spent some much time pouring into. I feel like in some way that I have failed them or failed God.

But, that is not my burden to carry. I struggle to surrender those in my life to Him. One of my favorite people in the world that the Lord has blessed me with reminds me of this scripture regularly. He reminds me that I am only part of the equation. That it is truly up to God to make the seeds grow in their heart.

That takes a lot of pressure off from us. If we are being obedient to speak truth in love, and share the gospel with those in our lives, if we are being obedient to what He is calling us to speak, then we have done our part. Just because we cannot see those words changing their lives instantly doesn’t mean at some point they will not grow.

I cannot see what is going on below the soil where those seeds are planted. I can only see what pops through the surface of the dirt. Under the soil though roots are growing down deep, water and nutrients are being taken in, then the seedling pops through.

The same is true for the people we are called to reach. We cannot see what that word from God is doing in their heart in the moment, but we can stand on the truth of scripture in Isaiah 55:11 that says, “My word does not return void.” Once the Word of God is spoken it will not be ineffective, it will accomplish the purpose in which God has for it. He is faithful my friends. Keep sowing seeds, keep watering, and trust God with the rest.