The Good Farmer

October 10, 2023

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty (Matthew 13:23).

I'm just driving home from work, and had thoughts a little bit about would I change anything in my life. Would I want to be saved sooner, or anything like that. I was kind of thinking , I am glad God sowed that seed when He did. When I was almost 41. When I was at the end of my 40 years wandering in the wilderness like the Israelites. I was thinking about, when He moved in me before when I was younger; He was preparing the ground (my soul). I started thinking God knows when to plant the seed. He knows when the ground is ready; he is the good farmer. He knows when you'll receive the seed, when you're going to be ready to receive His Word. He knows when your soul will be ready to receive the seed. We tend to want to blame ourselves like somehow we have control of when the farmer (God) does the planting. We do have a choice to receive it, and that may be our part in when we receive it, but God chooses when to plant it.

I don't really have regrets. Maybe I could have taught my kids earlier at a younger age, but I did teach them at a young age. There were years when I was bitter with God and didn't (ok it was about a decade, nearly two). To me it's really about when you're ready, when you can grow spiritually. When that seeds planted on good ground. Some may say "Well, I was saved at a young age, and am glad and grateful" . That's good, but that may have been when God wanted them to, but for me, I am content with when I received Christ in my life. I don't have any regrets when I look back on my life now. I "heareth the word". I try to do what God's will is for me. I also fail most of the time, but He leadeth me. Today's world tries to define Christians as hypocrites; all they see is our failings. Being a Christian however, is believing in Christ sacrifice for our sins, not our abilities to be sinless.

As I look back on my life, the one thing I would change is I would have more kids. It's like the first commandment in the Bible, at least one of the first I think (feel free to look that up). You know, be fruitful and multiply. Have many kids, many blessings in your life. So it would be the only thing I would change. I would have loved to see our child (Joseph) that only made it four months into pregnancy, but God chose a different home for him. Through our heartbreak, God would bless us shortly after that. When doctors said we were too old. When doctors said we should have tests done because high probability birth defect. When the world's wisdom said no to us. We put our faith in God, we trusted God. I am thankful for good doctor's, and science can also be great, and always listen to their advice. However, please always also remember it is not exact. That's why they call it "practicing medicine". I am very thankful the doctors and technology helped deliver our last child. I am even more thankful God helped them while he was helping us.

We were blessed with another healthy child, Joanna. I had thought if it was a boy we would name him Joseph. However, the night before our C-section appointment, the girls in the house chose the name Joanna from the bible. I knew at that moment God had a sense of humor, he was going to bless me with Little Jo as a girl before we even knew the gender.

Thank you God for planting thy word in my soul when I was ready. Thank you for being the good farmer. Thank you for the blessings of the children we have, and the one we will see some day.