Seed of Hope
Planting a seed of hope happens when we make intentional investments in hope, for hope, and through hope. In other words, hope grows hop.
If I want to harvest hope, I need to be actively planting hope in my life and in the lives of those around me. AND I need to be seeking out hope in the things around me.
With intentional choices, hope lives on.
#QuoteoftheDay
It only takes
a seed of hope
to change a heart.
– Kathryn Lang
Plant a Seed of Hope
The world did a lot of changing in 2020, and I was not prepared. When the supply chain got a hiccup, I couldn’t go out to the garden and get what I needed for dinner because I hadn’t planted a garden (because we didn’t have a yard). I could have planted things for later, but I couldn’t harvest what I hadn’t planted.
You have to plant seeds if you want to harvest fruit. And you have to plant those seeds before you need the harvest.
Over the last ten years, I’ve been investing in planting seeds of hope in my life and around my life through the Growing HOPE podcast and my writings. Every time I spoke or wrote hope, I was scattering seeds of hope.
Every seed of hope I planted had the possibility to fuel my hope for tomorrow.
Harvesting Hope
“How do you have such hope?” My friend had watched as my life seemed to crumble around me. We lost our home. We lost our savings fighting for our home. We lost my dad. All in all, we were more than a little lost.
“I hope because I know.” For days, and months, and even years before it all became an issue, I had been investing in the Word of God. I read Scripture and took notes. I attended church and took notes. I did Bible study and took notes.
I put it in my eyes and my ears until it was running out of my mouth.
I could hope because I believed.
The years of planting seeds of hope through my studies, through the Growing HOPE podcast, and through my writings allowed me to harvest hope when I needed it the most.
But even when you have prepared and planned and planted, sometimes you hit a tough time.
Pushing Past the Pests
Every June, many gardens around our community are plagued with Japanese Beetles. They will each your plants up and leave you with nothing but wasted dreams of fresh salads.
Our farm was surrounded by massive buckeye bushes and trees. I read somewhere that they were poisonous to the Japanese Beetles and I noticed that the destructive pests never bothered those shrubs and trees.
I started planting my gardens around the buckeyes. The pests found easier prey.
Almost every September, a late warm season would cause ladybugs to swarm all over the south side of our house – which happens to be where I main entrance was located. In the garden, ladybugs are a delight. Crawling all over (and all in) your house, not so much.
The first year, we tried using the door as little as possible, but those determined ladybugs found a way in even when we didn’t open the door. The second year of the invasion, my son taped around the trim of the door and we used the back and front entrances. It was not as convenient, but it was worth the extra effort.
There are a lot of destructive and annoying pests in the world. They are seasonal (like the Japanese Beetles), they are continual (like ants), and they are unexpected (like that family member who always shows up just when you least want company).
No matter their form, if you have a plan to push past the pests, then they won’t win the day.
Prepare before they arrive
As soon as we found something that drove away the Japanese Beetles, we went all in. In life, I know that the #1 thing that drives away the destructive pests of despair, negativity, and doubt is joy. Having joy always on tap and going all in with joy, peace, and faith set me up to drive the pests away.
Invest before they infest
As soon as the first ladybug would land on the side of the house, we would tape up that door. As soon as one of the life pests shows up, take action for hope.
- Go outside. NOTHING is better than the morning sun to heal your heart, mind, and body (literally and figuratively).
- Turn up the tunes. Find a song that makes your toes tap, your heart sing, and your spirit take flight.
- Laugh – with someone or on your own. Laughter is good medicine.
- Phone a friend. Talk to someone who is all in on their hope ride.
Stay the course
Adjusting your life to deal with pests is not ideal. If you’ve used the same door for twenty-five years, it’s easy to forget that’s not the door to use during ladybug season. But when you choose to stay the course, the pests can’t do the damage they would cause if you gave up or gave in.
Remember, it takes 10 times longer to put things back together than it does to hold it together in the first place.
Give Hope a Chance
This morning, when I woke up, I didn’t want to get up. Despite all that I was doing to build a foundation for the next step, I felt like I was stuck in quicksand instead of standing on solid ground.
I tried to feed my hope. I looked around for the fuel to take the next step. Despite all of my looking and trying, I couldn’t find what I needed.
Tough times happen. You don’t always talk about it to the people around you, and they don’t always pay enough attention to notice on their own. Even when you do open up, the people you share with may not care enough to hear or to help.
But if you’ve been spreading seeds of hope along your journey, there will be hearts that hear.
You’ll have a friend who notices a tone in the words you are writing. That friend will reach out just to say he cares and hope will grow from his efforts.
You’ll have a friend who is excited about the hope seeds in the words you spoke. He’ll connect and share how your journey is inspiring him in unexpected ways. His sharing will provide nurturing that allows hope to grow.
You’ll have a friend who takes the time to record a devotional for you and then prays for you because she cares for you. And hope will bloom in your heart from her efforts.
Hope doesn’t always show up in the expected ways. But hope will always show up if you’re open to receiving it. If you are struggling to find hope, stop right now and look. It’s there, even if it’s only a seed.
Big things grow up from small seeds.
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How are you seeding hope for your life (and in your life)?
Share your ideas and thoughts on how you can seed hope, and if you would like to read more about my hope journey, ask me for today’s post link!
