Soiled Relationships

10.26.11

Mark 4:1-20

Continuing my reading from what I posted yesterday, I was fresh on this heart-wave riding through thoughts of family, and the beauty of Goood’s family. Anyway, after this, “jesus began to teach”. His first lesson was the parable of the sower...

Now, if you read this parable (reeead it and let the spirit speak to youuu!) and it’s ending, you learn that the message the spirit is sending through Jesus’ words is intended to be seen as a metaphor for the different environments believers grow up in their faith, and their varied successes/failures with each environment. A beautiful imagery that i've read in the past with this imagery, and its been very helpful...

Today however, I read it differently...

Fresh off the ‘family’ section at the end of chapter three, I read the parable of the sower imagining relationship (man & wife) being the seed thrown to the different environments (path, rocks, thorns, and good soil)... and I saw the different environments those seeds were given to grow as being the families and surrounding influences of that seed. The soil from which a relationship comes together and grows, is of vital importance to that seed’s success in sprouting, revealing it's beauty, growing good fruit, and bringing light, glory to a world of scattered seeds.

It’s especially beautiful reading this after just learning about our family in God... how this community - growing intimately with god fearing people - is where seeds grow well.. in strength to fend off the elements (trials), and in beauty (joy) to attract onlookers who wonder at the contents of your soil... soil to be shared.

I’ve been lucky to have rich soil in my family on earth, what a blessing :) and with the amount of joy iiiii feel for my ‘new family’, I can’t imagine the anticipatory joy of someone whose family here on earth is torn, broken, and in need of good soil... their joy in being a member of a new family, in eternity.

I’m not sure if this sounds in any way judgemental, but for some reason I have the little yellow caution lights going off in my head warning me that I might offend someone... :/

I don’t intend offense. I merely am caught in a place of thanksgiving for the gift of this soil, and hope for all to join that family.

Relationships growing in good soil, with blessings and love coming from both sides... these will from their onset, I believe, grow with less confusion and more LIFE.

Now, in no way is this exclusive... My mimi and papa for example, married now over 50 years, would probably agree they didn’t have the best soil starting out as far as family was concerned... but have you ever seen the most beautiful little wildflower sprout between the cracks in a broad stone (ya?! me too..), and wonder hooooow in the heck it made it through that journey? Well... they are that flower :) they sucked the nutrients out of.. stone.

beautiful...

They are in God’s family... And in that growing out of stone they have sowed good soil for their next of kin. Soil their children, and their children's children get to grow into (how it's designed?). In this soil grows fruits of the spirit, the same spirit which gives life to the soil, bringing life to the seed... those fruits delivering love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness etc... In His family, and in our own, these are the gifts we receive, these fruits. And these fruits we are responsible to grow for others to pick and enjoy, juice dripping off their lips.. bringing life.

Then the two become one, and the soils mix.

Fruit is grown, new seeds now sprouting, life grows. The soil bringing strength to withstand the elements, and beauty to attract others to the life giving soil... the fruit. Pause... and imagine it with me..

Maybe a whole other subject all together, but isn't it funny that plants grow best in manure... shit. Shit brings growth?! Hmm... Extend thaaat metaphor... ha

Without really feeling led to write anymore about this cause I could go on all day... I dive into the morning giving thanks for the soil I was born into, and the gift of the soil offered in our ‘new family’.. offered to all. I get excited about making good soil one day for my own family... growing God’s family... :) blaaaah!

be well friends.