by Sarah Earlene Shere, ©2024
(Jan. 6, 2023) — The seed sat along the path. He blinked and flinched at the dust that flew his way, kicked up by the passers-by. He shivered as birds landed near him and snatched away those who had been in the sower’s bag with him. Suddenly, he felt a small hand pick him up. A child held him high, between their finger and thumb, as they shouted to their father. “Abba, I found another!”
The father smiled at the innocence of his child who refused to let the birds steal away his hard work and insisted that everything (including seeds) should be given a chance to live. With eager feet, the child ran into the field and plunged the seed into the fertile soil. For what felt like forever, the seed sat buried there. He shivered and thought how he would be better off eaten by birds than left alone in the dark.
But, one day, his thoughts were interrupted by the caress of a gentle breeze and the warmth of the sun. He opened his eyes at the sound of laughter. The child he had seen so long ago was running toward him with outstretched arms, looking up at him with a smile. “Looking up? How am I so high above the ground,” thought he. Looking down, he saw a strong trunk below him. As the child approached, birds went flying away from him, off of his branches. “Branches,” thought he, “What have I become?”
The child hugged the trunk of the tree, once the smallest seed, and exclaimed, “Aren’t you glad you were saved and have become more than you ever thought you could be?”
A lesson based on Matthew 13:3-4, 19, 23 & 31-32 of the Bible.
Beautiful