Little Seed

I had a little seed. I buried the seed in some dirt. Seeds are supposed to grow, so I assumed that it would grow. Days went by, then weeks, then months went by, and the dirt did not change. So I talked to the seed, “Please grow, little seed. I really want to see what you can become.” But nothing happened. So then I prayed, “God, please make the seed grow into something.” This I knew would work. But it didn’t. Then, miraculously, something did happen. Something did begin to grow in the dirt. But it was not growing from the seed. It was a weed. As more weeks went by, a few more weeds grew, but the seed did not produce. Now I was having to work hard, pulling weeds just to keep the dirt free from them, but nothing grew from the seed. What a waste, I thought, all this work just trying to maintain the status quo, and no fruit. Then I decided, well, I’m already having to work at this… I’ll try to help the seed. So I started to add water to the dirt. Every day I pulled weeds and added water, and asked God to make the seed grow. The days went by and turned to weeks. People started to ask me why I was wasting so much time on this seed. “Are you sure it’s worth it, they asked?” I replied, “Not totally sure, but now I am accustomed to the work.” Then one day, it happened! A little hint of green from the seed peeked through the dirt. Finally! I decided my work was done. I stopped watering, stopped weeding, and stopped praying. Would you believe that the seed stopped growing? That little hint of green, that promise of rich fruit, just stayed stagnant. And the weeds kept growing around it like crazy. Now the people started to ask, “Why did you stop working?” I had no good reason. I wanted to see the fruit grow. I wanted other people to see the fruit. I wanted to believe that the faithful work was not for naught, and I wanted others to believe the same. But now I was busy with other things and did not have time to water and weed. So I prayed, “God, please help the little seed to keep growing.” Days went by, weeks went by, and nothing changed. Just more weeds. Finally, I decided that I must make time for the work. I made time every day to pull the weeds, to water the seed, and to pray for God to make it grow. And would you believe it actually did? The seed produced so much fruit that I could feed others around me that did not have seeds. Everyone began to talk, exclaiming of this great fruit. When they realized that work and prayer together could make seeds grow, they all began to plant seeds. Some grew weary of the watering and weed-pulling, but some pressed on and continued to pray for results. As for me, I was convinced - pulling weeds, watering, and praying for God’s help were a small price to pay for the rich and abundant fruit.