Soil

He who has ears, let him hear. ~ Matthew 13:9

Some of life's lessons have a tendency to go right over my head. Just when I think I'm heading down the right path - bam. I hit a wall of sin. Broken, I look to the sky, needing a lift from my Saviour. Ever faithful, He picks me up, brushes me off and sends me on my way.

I sat in Matthew's seat at school last night. Surrounded by parents and teachers for back to school night, I realized that I fell into the grown-up category. How could this have happened?

It was just yesterday that I was facing Jr. High myself, and everything awkward that went along with it. Greasy skin, shapeless bod, goofy hair and mismatched clothes. I was anything but cool in Jr. High, but I so longed to fit in. Seeing things from an adult perspective last night made me ache, wishing I could give it just one more go around.

Did I just say I wish I could be in Jr. High again? Wait just a minute - there is something really wrong with this picture. Why would anybody want to re-live such torture? I think what I mostly longed for, was to do seventh and eight grade again - as an adult. I'm a different person since I accepted the Lord.

Back then, every lesson fell on the rocky soil of my life. Not only was I squeezing God's message out, so many school of my disciplines were missed, several lessons I never took to heart, homework that went undone and tests I should have studied harder for. Regret can be a poisonous thing.

I prayed silently for my son as I sat in that little chair, grateful that he will get the chances that I missed. The chance to feel good about himself, to really apply himself and know where he is going. Matthew already knows which college he wants to go to, he already knows what he wants to be when he grows up.

The soil of his heart is ready.

Jesus spoke in parables. Stories that people of his day could really relate to and apply. He used common examples to explain the intricate tangling of theology. The soil of one's heart measured their teachability.

How's your soil? Have you choked God's messages out due to worry and unbelief? Have you tasted the bitter weed of regret, letting it choke the fruit out of your life?

Precious friend, while it is true that we only get one go-around on this earth, we must always remember. We serve a God who is in the business of second chances, and third, and fourth . . .

It's never too late to discover what you want to be when you grow up. God's still peeling back the layers of dirt in my life.

Believe He can do it the same for you. From mustard seed to fields of green - every chapter of your life tells a story.

Every story matters.