{"id":3953,"date":"2014-05-15T00:04:19","date_gmt":"2014-05-15T05:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pathoftreasure.wordpress.com\/?p=3953"},"modified":"2014-05-15T00:04:19","modified_gmt":"2014-05-15T05:04:19","slug":"how-we-are-like-seeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prasantaverma.com\/index.php\/2014\/05\/15\/how-we-are-like-seeds\/","title":{"rendered":"How We Are Like Seeds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I read these words while sitting in\u00a0the space between\u00a0spring and summer, on the cusp of wild verdant growth:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Glorifying and enjoying Me<em> is a higher priority than maintaining a tidy, structured life. Give up your striving to keep everything under control &#8212; an impossible task and a waste of precious energy.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<h6>\u00a0<span style=\"line-height:1.5;\">(Excerpted from\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"text-decoration:underline;\">Jesus Calling<\/span><span style=\"line-height:1.5;\"> by Sarah Young)<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h5><\/h5>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here in the upper Midwest, the growing season might be short, but it hits furiously and strong when the heat finally breaks through the tight grasp of winter.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/pathoftreasure.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/11\/006.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-3595 lazyload\" data-src=\"http:\/\/pathoftreasure.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/11\/006.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"006\" width=\"640\" height=\"853\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 640px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 640\/853;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I can&#8217;t control this season anymore than I can control anything else, as I am reminded again. <span style=\"color:#3366ff;\">My life is not a neatly planted hedge of planned events; rather, a messy string of occurrences and mistakes, which the Lord is using to graciously teach me what He wants me to know. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Anything that has happened out of my control is still in the Lord&#8217;s hands and in His control. <span style=\"color:#3366ff;\">Thankfully, I don&#8217;t exist in a world devoid of spiritual abundance&#8211; He is there, always, offering with open hands what the soul desperately needs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If winter reminds me of that deep void in the soul, summer reminds me of what is possible with God. Summer shows me what seeds of faith can become&#8211; flowers and fruit.<span style=\"color:#3366ff;\"> A life hidden with God results in\u00a0wisdom, peace, love&#8230; and other manifestations of His indwelling spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>A seed planted does not strive against the soil. It does not jump out of the ground and transplant itself elsewhere. It does not fight against the roots that will soon sprout from its coat. It simply lives, grows, and thrives, nourished by the soil and its environment.<\/p>\n<p>We are like seeds planted by a Master, connected to a rich vine and a water-source that never runs dry. <span style=\"color:#3366ff;\">We, like seeds, have no need to strive for tomorrow, or to strain for control.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I wrote a poem two years ago about a<span style=\"color:#333333;\">bout new beginnings and planting seeds&#8230; about the work done in our hearts, and the hope that hearts turn toward their Maker:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><span style=\"color:#008000;\">The Turning<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><span style=\"color:#008000;\">I take a spear and tear<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#008000;\"> ground open, unzipping<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#008000;\"> warm earth, \u00a0watch half-<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#008000;\"> earthworms wriggle, struggle<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#008000;\"> for slice of dirt-breath<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><span style=\"color:#008000;\">In desperation, I plant<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#008000;\"> a few seeds and wait in vain<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#008000;\"> for a forest and hope<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#008000;\"> for the turning<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#008000;\"> of sunflowers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h5><em>Is your soul turned toward him? Are you striving?\u00a0<\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I read these words while sitting in\u00a0the space between\u00a0spring and summer, on the cusp of wild verdant growth: &#8220;Glorifying and enjoying Me is a higher priority than maintaining a tidy, structured life. Give up your striving to keep everything under control &#8212; an impossible task and a waste of precious energy.&#8221; \u00a0(Excerpted from\u00a0Jesus Calling by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[55,87,206,212],"tags":[486,534,904,908,944,968],"class_list":["post-3953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-growth","category-spring","category-summer","tag-fruit","tag-growth","tag-seasons","tag-seeds","tag-spiritual-lessons-from-gardening","tag-summer"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How We Are Like Seeds - Prasanta Verma<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/prasantaverma.com\/index.php\/2014\/05\/15\/how-we-are-like-seeds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How We Are Like Seeds - Prasanta Verma\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I read these words while sitting in\u00a0the space between\u00a0spring and summer, on the cusp of wild verdant growth: &#8220;Glorifying and enjoying Me is a higher priority than maintaining a tidy, structured life. 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