Pushing Through the Crust

On Easter Sunday we had our tighter circle of family out to Hooverville for a wonderful meal.  Grandma, Grandpa, Steven and Miranda,  Tommy and Denice, Mom, Dad, Grant and I, all enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by my mother.  Ham, deviled eggs, salad, hot rolls, potato casserole and beans made for a delicious spread.

Grandma and Grandpa were excited to be back at home.  The first thing Grandpa did when he got out of the car was take his walker out to the wheat pasture behind the house.  He wanted to see the wheat!

I walked with him as we examined the wheat up close.  He picked a strand and told me the head would come out here in the next week or so.  I always take Dad and Grandpa's word when it comes to farming and gardening, however the back of my mind says they have to be either psychic or magicians to know this stuff.  How can you tell the exact week when your crop is going to pop out of the ground or turn colors?  Grandpa hadn't even seen my garden and he still knew when my potatoes would sprout!

Since we were near the garden I excitedly showed Grandpa the progress my onions had made.  He was very pleased, although I quickly apologized for not having freshly weeded the garden (it had been less than a week, though.)  Nevertheless, Grandpa's seal of approval was on my onions, and that was worth gold!

A few weeks later my potatoes started to bloom.  Dad had told me to keep the ground wet so the plants could push through the crust.  I was fascinated as I soon saw exactly what Dad meant. These tiny baby plants were literally pushing their way through the hard outer shell of the earth and into the fresh air.  For weeks I had been hoeing around plants that I couldn't see.  To be honest, I wasn't even sure if I was hoeing in between the rows or not, but by good faith I did it anyway.  Slowly but surely one plant after another began to pop up, and it seemed like overnight they would arrive.

The whole idea of "pushing through the crust" is amazing to me.  What was once a seed is now moving earth around so they can complete it's purpose in life.  I think that should inspire anyone.  What is the "crust" in your life that you need to push through in order to fulfill your purpose?

In church on Sunday this lesson continued when my pastor spoke on the parable of the seeds in Mark 4.  The farmer used good seed and cast it across the land.  The seed fell on to four different types of soil: hard, rocky, thorny and good.  Each type of soil is linked to the spiritual life of you and I.  The Lord is planting seeds and we hear good words but are they taking root in your life?  Perhaps the seeds are not growing because your heart is hard or because your idols are choking it out.  Maybe you believe the Lord and want to follow him but as soon as a hard time comes you give up.

The good news is, you can change your soil.  You can change the outcome of the seeds.  It is your choice to be good soil, you only have to cultivate your heart in good faith, just as I did my garden.  Remember, it was weeks before I saw results, but the persistence paid off.

Think about what kind of soil you are, and ask yourself what crust you need to push through in order to live the life of purpose and passion that God called you to.  You just mind find a sprout to water.