At Home with Susan
Monthly Column by Susan Sikes

Now that spring has arrived, the flower beds seem to be calling. I see people working in their yards daily, because there is a feeling of joy attached. Flowers have such a way of cheering up a home. My husband has gotten our flower bed nicely manicured, but at this point it is still missing the color. That will be our next project.

The first year that we moved into our house, I planted zinnias. I had never experienced them before, but they ended up being some of our favorite flowers. They gave us a huge variety of bright colors that lasted for months! Another thing that was wonderful about them was that when the flowers started to die, the seeds would drop and new flowers would bloom. We had zinnias coming up all over the place, even on the sides of the house where we had not planted them. We also had zinnias come up the following year from seeds that had been left behind. It was a continuous cycle without a lot of extra work.

If you look to what the Bible says about reaping and sowing, you can apply this truth to life in general, especially when dealing with people.

"A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Galatians 6:7b-10).

I have had a few plants come up out of the blue, but I would have been totally shocked if I had planted zinnias and harvested corn instead. It is just common sense that if I plant a zinnia seed, a zinnia will grow. The same is true of our spiritual growth. If we are planting in the flesh, fleshly things will grow. However, when we plant in the Spirit, the spiritual will be harvested.

Have you ever tried to really help someone by setting an example and showing them what the Lord was saying? Sometimes we plant those seeds and almost immediately we can see little sprouts. How encouraging! Most of the time however, you have to wait for a season or so. It may be a year or longer before there is a tiny sprout. In the waiting period, you must continue to water and feed the seeds you have planted. Continue to do good (in love) and in the proper time there will be growth.

Once you have planted and taken care of spiritual seeds, watch how the Lord will bring an increase. He will begin to use the people you have encouraged to bring about growth in other areas. You will see growth in places that you did not plant. Sprouts will be coming up all over the place for years to come –- a continuous cycle without a lot of extra effort.

In this season of spring, let’s all get busy planting –- physically as well as spiritually. When the harvest comes and the Lord brings the color, we will all be blessed as we see His glory.

© 2008 by Susan Sikes

Zinnia photo courtesy of Wikimedia.org, per GNU Free Documentation License.