HOPE IN THE SEEDS

I really get discouraged living in this world today. I listen to conversations about the problems we face as people. I hear about unemployment and how this will become worse in the future. I listen to people talk about global warming. Some say it is nothing to worry about, and others say if we don't do something about it the world will be consumed by its devastation. I do not know who to believe, and even less I do not know what I can do to fix it. I am disgusted with wars that go on and on without end. I hear the talk about the future bankruptcy which will be caused by Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, but I also know the dignity and possibility of living which these programs create. I hear the arguments about raising taxes, and I hear the discussion about cutting back programs of the government.

Then I wonder who is going to be hurt the most by the solutions that our political leaders will put forth in the laws they create.

I look at the great problems, and I know that I can do very little about them. President Obama does not call me for advice. Susan Collins does not write to me for any answers. Paul LaPage, and the editor of the Portland Press Herald do not ask me if I have any solutions. If I mention some of these issues to my friends those who agree with me nod their heads,"Yes," and those who do not agree shake their heads, "No." My voice in this world is so small, I hardly see it as being effectual at all to make any difference in great problems of our democracy.

Small. Small. Small. How small is a tiny baby born in a barn in Bethlehem? How small is a country preacher with the congregation of 12 people who do not seem to understand him? How insignificant are three crosses on a hill far away? How small is a mustard seed?

I planted a garden this year. I planted a couple packages of carrot seeds, and a couple packages of bean seeds. I put a dozen small tomato plants in the ground, six small cucumber plants, and six zucchini seeds in three small hills. I planted peppers, broccoli, squash and some lettuce which grew spontaneously from last year. Not all of the seeds grew. Some of the plants which sprang up died. Some of the plants grew leaves, but no fruit.

I quickly forgot the seeds which died, but for 2 1/2 months I have taken great joy in the seeds which did lived. I made salads with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and peppers which came from my garden. I cooked zucchini slices and made zucchini bread with vegetable of my garden. I've eaten several wonderful meals with broccoli from my garden, and as the special holiday of Thanksgiving will soon be upon us I am keeping butternut squash from my garden to cook with the turkey that I will have to celebrate the wonderful, abundant bounty which God has provided me.

In the spring as I thought about my garden I could holds the seeds that I would plant in one hand, and I could put the plants that I would place in the ground in the other, and out of this little supply I have enjoyed a summertime feast. One day in my church I held up an apple, an orange, and a few grains of wheat. I told the congregation that in my hands on that day with those gifts I had a supply of food which over time could be used to feed the world. What good is a seed?

I remember a song from a man named Joe Wise. The song was called, “A seed,” and the words went like this:
Is there anything at all as little as a seed?
Is there anything at all as little as a seed?
And yet it grows, grows, grows,
Yes it grows until it gives you all you need, need, need.


From a seed comes the solutions of life.

I think my country where I live, and my country which I love is in terrible, terrible trouble. I think nationally and internationally we are facing problems whose dimensions are huge. I believe these problems will only be solved when nationally we as a people come together with love to support and work for solutions to heal us, but we are not ready to do that yet. Individuals want to help, but nationally we are too divided to find cures. We are too angry to reach out to help. We are too entrenched in our little view to be inspired by larger views to solve our great problems, and before we change as a nation we will need to suffer more. Answers for the common good will only come after our hearts are broken. Why do I feel this way?

I have been to meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous. I have met people who have been drunk and who got sober. I have walked their pathway to experience the pain of their addiction and the joy of their restoration. One of the truths I have learned on that road is before people are able to change for the better they often need to bottom out at the worst. Look around. How many people are destroying their bodies with obesity, and still we eat like hogs? How many people die of addiction and yet we continue to take the drugs of doctors and dealers? We speed and crash our cars. We gamble and lose our wealth. We lust and abuse our families. We ridicule and lose our friends. In front of us is a huge pit of anguish, and we keep walking into it. Like the Prodigal Son in the bible story Jesus told we need to lose our wealth and wind up feeding the pigs in a pen before we learn that actions have consequences.

One of the worst times of bottoming out for our nation was the depression of the 1930's which extended into the 1940's. It was created by the greed of those who took all they could until all was lost. This became a period of extreme suffering which then created a new national mood to improve the lives of people. I have a difficult time trying to find hope when I believe we are still rolling down the hill in a cart with no brakes until we reach the bottom. Sometimes I feel like I am on the Titanic after it hit the iceberg and I don't know what I will do. Will I try to push myself into one of the lifeboats even though my presence on that boat will mean that another person will die, or do I join the band and sing “Nearer My God to thee” as I sink beneath the waves? What can I do in this world in the last few days and years of my life to make a difference? Where do I find my hope? Do I just sit and curse the darkness, or can I stand up to light a candle? Can I hope to make any difference at all?

My soul answers, “Yes.” In my heart I want to have the faith of a mustard seed which Jesus said is the smallest of seeds yet when it grows, it grows to be a great bush so that the birds of the air can come and make their nests within it. I want to help someone in the hope that that person will help someone else and those people will help someone else so one by one we will continue to help someone else until the whole world can know and feel the wonder of love. I want to be a seed which grows, and I want to believe the miracle of Bethlehem can still happen today.

I know who I will vote for in 2012. I do not know if that person will win, and even if the one I vote for wins I do not know if that person will have the solutions to make this country and world a better place to live in. If that person does not win I do not know if the other winner I vote against will make things better or worse. No one seems to really know what the future will bring, but I do believe we will have a hand in what will happen, I believe that in the whole collection of the universe whenever we give a cup of cold water to someone in need, whenever we give a coat to keep someone warm, whenever we speak a word of love to a lonely and discouraged heart our words and deeds will not be lost.

My hope is in seeds because I know that seeds will grow. My faith is in seeds because I know good deeds done are little victories for life won. My hope is the belief that in the struggle, not only to survive but to live in peace with love, God touches the hearts of many to do good deeds for all. I do get discouraged with what I see happening in the world, but then a friend touches me with joy and I believe that what is happening in the world brings good to us and will create goodness within us. The problems of living are great but I believe in faith, hope, love, peace, joy, goodwill and self control and what gives me a confident hope is:

I know I am not alone in this. I know as we live in the crucifixion of Calvary we will also come to see the resurrection of Easter, and out of the pain of death we will find hope in the seeds of life. In the end of the struggling of my soul with God I do remain an optimist who looks to the future to see a new heaven and a new earth coming for us to receive.