by Gina Caswell Kelly
I was driving in to church yesterday and, like I always do, I was kind of looking around to see what the farmland was looking like and what the guys were doing. One field I went past still had cotton stalks standing with lint hanging on and tumbleweeds snagged here and there. Another, right next to it had wheat coming up. You could just see the green hue across the field. Then on down was some land that was freshly broke, meaning it had been freshly plowed and all the remains of last year were gone. It struck me how this was all symbolic of our lives.
The cotton stalks standing were the past. What’s done is done. There is no more to be harvested from the past planting. It has been harvested, ginned and gone on down the road.
The green wheat represents the present. Seeds have been planted and they are up. The farmer planted wheat and wheat is what he got. Now, his job is to take care of it and nurture it along to maturity.
The freshly plowed ground represents the future. The ground has been turned and all remnants of last year are gone. It is a fresh slate waiting on what is going to happen next.
This is so like our lives. We all have a past and many times, we spend lots of time dwelling on the past and wishing we could change past mistakes or do things differently. But that is not an option. What we have done in the past is done. It cannot be changed. It can certainly be forgiven, if need be, but what was done cannot be changed, nor can the consequences.
We also all have a present. Today. The moment in which we are living. Like the wheat, whatever seeds we plant today will be what is grown. Will you plant seeds of excitement and enthusiasm? Or will you plant seeds of discord and arguing? This is today. What you do today will grow. Will you plant a crop worth nurturing or a field full of weeds that need to be hoed out?
Then there is the future! A great future full of freshly plowed ground just waiting to see what dreams and plans you will place there. I love the smell of the fresh turned soil. It smells like the future to me. The farmer turns the soil with hope for the future and plans for what seeds will be planted there. What will you do with your future? What will be the result when all is said and done?
In Jeremiah 29:11, God says, “I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” God has great plans for you this year! What about you? Line your plans up according to God’s plans and you can’t go wrong! It will make the difference!