Sow In Tears-Reap in Joy

February 2013 PROMPT: Write about the parable of the Sower ( Matt 13:1-9 // Mark 4:1-9 // Luke 8:4-8)

Sow in tears and reap in joy!

           And there I was musing, and I cannot say it was the least bit amusing. I am using the metaphor of a writer struggling to find something to share to talk of planting seed. If I could only see through God's eyes, I might see there is justice, not abuse without end.



         The first soil is like a blank piece of paper. It has nothing on it, because the effort to write anything feels nothing short of useless. It might as well be crumbled up and thrown into the rubbish. As pastor, I have seen the victims. Then there is the faceless abuser. There is a screech and a loud; "get the hell away from me", from a victim of abuse in a psychodrama group.

          Who hears the tears of the victim?

I look forward to the next chapter that God will write. People only get away with victimizing people for so long. God hears the screams and lets the victim know they will be freed.



           The second soil is like ink blotches that make it on to the paper aimlessly. The eraser can never be big enough. I look back on countless attempts to make a meaningful connections with pen on paper. The screeches of car ambulance lights flashing remind me of this dissonance. Cars out of control are like huge rocks with people in the way. Jenna is a person I have cared for. She is constantly yelling with helmet on in case of seizures. She is a permanent resident in a state hospital when I connect with her. She had been a school teacher until a car accident left her only a shell of what she was. One day, she shows up with a blown up surgical glove a mental health worker gave her to make her happy. She gives me the glove for my new baby. I smile at her gift of love and she smiles back. God created us, so that no rock(car) can take away a soul. This is what gives me hope, the love that Jenna has stored. This happens despite reckless persons who are filled with potential for one last accident that will put an end to it all.



             Then there were tangled weeds and brambles in another type of soil. What a mess, like so many scribbles on paper. There is a person with Cerebral Palsy whom I shall call Frances. She was pushed down stairs when she was a small girl and was raped while in a state hospital. She leaves people feeling all scrambled up inside. They let her disability be their excuse for mistreating her. This same woman loves God and church and loves to write what appear to be scribbles on volumes of notebook paper. It is as if she is speaking in tongues-a prayer language to God no one else but she can understand. I pray God who makes order out of chaos will take the confused and ignorant people that torment Frances and show them their tangled perception leads only to the choking away of a person's life.



         Then there are the times that I find gratitude in the midst of various lifelong battles with various conditions and illnesses. Most of the time, these people are wondering what purpose God has for their life. Gratitude is the elixir that saves the day. It is realizing that NOTHING can separate from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ.  It is gratitude that arises out of dark places exploding gloom into delight. Once committed to giving thanks there is no reason to complain. Other people long to come along for the ride. I have this wonderful vision. God will open eyes and people will see who loved them when they could not love themselves. They will know what the words "For God so Loves the World" mean. Until that day I am thankful for words I see dancing on blank pieces of paper that might bless and challenge all God creation, to see a seed that found the ground of grace.





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