My backyard is like a three-ring circus - and I love it! In fact, we planned it that way. In the spring, my husband and I strategically planted flowers that would attract hummingbirds and butterflies. We planted a purple variety of lantana and then we wove in some red and yellow lantana. We have delicate pink New Guinea impatients and deep pink hibiscus flowers, purple cone flowers and black-eyed daisies. I've planted tons of red flowering plants including red mandavilla and red knock-out roses, all to tempt the birds, hummingbirds and butterflies alike.
Remember the movie "Field of Dreams"? If you build it, they will come. Well, if you plant it, they will come. God has splattered the back yard with brilliant colors with the gift of birds. I have vibrant yellow finches and majestic red cardinals. There are some mystery birds, a variety or two of birds I don't recognize. There is so much activity going on that you could be entertained for hours. I have about 5 bird feeders hanging about. The feeders contain either thistle seed or sunflower seeds. The birds are eating me out of house and home. I can't keep the feeders full. They all fight and clamor for a spot on the feeders. Males of like kind duke it out and birds of different varieties dual for the best spot on the feeder. Sometimes, they all eat peacefully together. Butterflies dance through the sky. Hummingbirds flitter from feeder to feeder and flower to flower.
My flowers were planted intentionally to attract all this action. My husband and I went to great lengths early in the spring. The color of the flowers combined with the brilliant colors of the birds really serves as a tranquil place with gifts galore for the senses.
I was watering my plants one afternoon and I noticed some interesting and strange new growth randomly in the mix of the landscaping. There were about six sprouts and I recognized them after a closer look. They were not weeds, but sunflowers. My husband said, "We need to pull those out of there." I replied, "No, let's let them grow." "Sunflowers grow really tall," he said. My response, "I know it will be fun." Sure enough with no effort of my own they grew tall and spectacular. Their yellow faces bring a special touch of artistry to the landscaping. The amazing thing is that they grew sporadically just from the seeds being tossed to the ground by the birds or the wind. Somehow they randomly took root and grew just as healthy and strong as the other plants in our landscaping that we strategically purchased, planted and nurtured. New sprouts just kept taking root. A few days later I had to pull up about 40 new sprouts!
One of my dear friends loves sunflowers. Every year she grows them in her back yard. I saw her a few weeks ago and she was complaining that she just couldn't get her sunflowers to grow this year. It was quite a mystery to her because she had always been successful in the past. She worked hard to plant and nurture her seeds. She was very frustrated. So, I gave her my expert gardening tip wrapped in all my gardening wisdom: "Just stick a bird feeder in the back yard, fill it with sunflower seeds and let nature do the rest." You can imagine her reaction when she found out that I had magnificent sunflowers growing in my backyard by no effort on my part.
The mystery of the sunflowers reminded me of how we impact people and connect them to God, to his glory and his word. Sometimes we work so hard. We are intentional and strategic about evangelizing those in our corner of the world and beyond. We have formal programs, formal ways of sharing the gospel. There is nothing wrong with evangelistic programs. These programs work well in certain settings and they can be very effective. ButI wonder if we realize the influence we have on others when our lives are lived out simply from the overflow of our hearts. Sometimes the greatest impact happens without us even knowing it.
We touch lives because His love in our lives is so evident and powerful that it falls on the hearts of those around us and suddenly we have made a connection with someone. Our love ultimately leads others to a connection to God. Unintentionally, we scatter seeds and we cultivate our community as a result of living out daily discipline. We wear the love of Christ as a garment. It's a lifestyle we take with us wherever we go. To the dentist office, to the grocery store, to work, to school, at the ballpark, at the restaurant, in our homes, in the good times and the bad times. We travel with this garment that tells the world we love Jesus and we love them. Unaware, we sprinkle seeds throughout our community. Through our daily living we become the testimony of His goodness and deliverance. Our sounds of hope allow roots to take hold in odd places. Suddenly at the ballpark, grounding takes place with a parent you have sat with as your kids play ball. One day you see tiny new green growth and you don't pluck it, but you water it and love it and finally glory in one whose face now shines with a love for Christ.
Just by naturally being who you are, a person who loves God and lives out that hope, you are a seed planter. Sometimes being unintentionally intentional creates powerful results. According to the August issue of Family Circle Magazine, Hendersonville is rated third in the nation for being one of the best towns in our country in which to live. People like you who live out your lives in this community and take care of others make Hendersonville, TN a perfect place to call home.
Seed planting doesn't require a formal program, preaching at people or giving folks a list of what's right and wrong. Instead, it means living out the seed planting task God gave us to do today the way a Christ-follower should. Live like a Christian in and out of your workplace, your classroom or just in your regular routine of life. Your love and compassion for others through daily relational interaction will automatically become the healthy soil in which others will take root in the Hope that is in you. So, plant on sisters! Impact lives by walking and talking and get ready because the harvest of "sunflowers" in your corner of the world will be spectacular!
The Parable of the Growing Seed
Mark 4:26 - 29
The kingdom of God is like this, "He said, "a man scatters seed on the ground; he sleeps and rises - night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows - he doesn't know how. The soil produces a crop by itself - first the blade, then the head, and then the ripe grain on the head. But as soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come."