Sown NOT Thrown
Mark 4:30-32
Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”
This passage is giving us a picture of the kingdom of God, but today I would like to compare it to the Motherhood. Motherhood is an aspect of the kingdom of God. We all start in life as a little mustard seed.
In the first season of life, we are young and single, these are days of independence, adventure, and freedom. Doing whatever we want whenever we want. For some these days are filled with great happiness and others with great sadness. However, good or bad we grow. Can I implore you to make these days count. Let every opportunity and year add value to your life. Make good decisions, invest in your life, serve others, build a foundation that will last.
As we age and enter the second seasons, we experience the process of “being thrown to the ground.” The early days of motherhood from pregnancy forward can feel like a time when you get thrown to the ground. Life as you know it changes. Your body is no longer your own, you have to share. Your schedule, bedtime, bathroom time and meal times all have intrusions and demands. Your career has to share or take sacrifices you never anticipated. I remember most days as a young mom I felt like I had been thrown to the ground. These days are days of humility. We can willing yield to this beautiful process and kneel at the throne of grace or fight in our own strength. I say, yield to pouring our lives out for someone else in ways we never imaged. Learning to serve selflessly. Learning to choose carefully how we spend our time and what we value most. Being sown on the ground is a necessary step to flourishing. It is an inescapable step of growth. There is no shortcut or way around it. It is here that you die to yourself, you let your dreams go, you become desperate for God and God alone. His presence becomes the only thing that will sustain you. It is a place of brokenness where you realize your strength comes from the Lord. Anything you are going to do or become in the world you can not do apart from Him and His grace.
One day you look up from the diapers, the stretched out clothing of nursing, the gooey hands and left standing there is a woman God can use. The world does not acknowledge her beauty. There are a few extra rolls in the midsection, stretch marks, and crows feet. There is a career that has died or survived on a shoestring. An education that has become obsolete, unfinished or unused. And yes you are a hot mess but a hot mess God can use. You are not one of the women that the world idolizes. One who is airbrushed, spandex up, sucked, nipped and tucked. You are a beautiful seed. You have been sown on the ground of life and are for ready and capable of growth beyond your wildest dreams.
“I have a mustard seed and I am not afraid to use it.”
Please note that the word used in the scripture is sown not thrown. You are not throwing away your life just because you get thrown up on multiple times a day. You are not throwing away your career or education because the last book you read was the “Little Engine that Could.” You are sowing not throwing. You are building layer upon layer into the little lives you care for. I have had moments of deep revelation over children books and movies. God sees right where you are and can meet you and speak to you through any medium. Yes, even Veggie Tales! He is El Elon the God who sees. Hagar was a young desperate mother and God saw her pain, isolation, and struggle. He met her right where she was at.
Before kids, I had great daily spiritual discipline. I read my bible daily, prayed for an hour and fasted somewhat regularly. Its been 13 years and I am just now started to figure out a new normal. I had to give in and count reading the “Preschool Bible,” with my son, while teaching him to read, as my daily bible reading. Or memorizing AWANA scripture with my kids as my memory disciple. I used what I had and the spirit of God was faithful to show up. I remember crying while reading the Velveting Rabbit with my boys as a revelation of “becoming” became very real for me. I received one of the strongest Rhema words for the next major season of my life while helping my daughter prepare a presentation for her class. It's in these moments that God takes our humble hearts and breaths his grace and fulfillment on our life.
The third season in this passage is when the seed has grown. It becomes greater than all the herbs and provides for others around it. I'll be honest, I am not sure I have achieved this status in my life. But I have witnessed and been mentored by women who have reached this place. It's a place of maturity. We are no longer surviving all that life throws at us we are thriving. Our lives become a haven for others. Our age, life experiences and perspectives keep us from being shaken. We are steadfast and strong.
I applaud the women in the workplace and women who pioneer opportunities for all of us. But today I applaud the women in the trenches with the little ones. What you do is unseen, unlovely, unrewarded and the unpopular. I would argue that what you do is the most important job in the world. It is not just for them, the kids, it's for you. The boot camp of motherhood produces strong, resourceful and insightful women.