This morning, (February 15th) I read through the parable of the sower. A summation of the parable (Matthew 13) goes like this:
"A farmer goes out to disperse his seed. As he is scattering the seed, some seed fell on an open path where the birds came and ate it up. Some fell in rocky places where there was not much soil. The crop grew quickly, but when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and withered away because they did not have deep roots. Other seeds feel amongst the thorns, and when they grew up they were choked. Some seed fell on good soil. These seeds grew up strong and multiplied in great quantity."
I'll be honest, our first month on the race was pretty rough. Mozambique was hard. Mozambique was really hard. It was our last weekend before we got to leave for Swaziland, and we had to wait two days at Angie Wheeler's for the rest of our team to catch up with us. Which, don't get me wrong, we were so thankful for hospitality, but it was a tight living space, it was hot and there were a LOT of bugs. To really top it off, we could've sworn the thunder storms were going to take both the house and all of us away with it. (Or worse, that we wouldn't be able to cross the bridge out due to the floods…) Here is a journal entry from that weekend:
Sunday, Feb 3rd
This morning I woke up with a slightly disfigured, swollen face. I was instantly reminded of the mindless swatting and constant buzzing in my ears that entertained me all night. I had brushed the annoyance of mosquitos away just as I had brushed aside all the inconveniences that had come with living in Mozambique this past month. However, these bites are the cherry on top and I want to cave in. My teammates have been sympathetic, and I've been able to forget about them.
Later this morning the worship team decided to call us together. As we were all singing songs of praise, I had this realization. We are all so joyful. My face looks like a tragedy of middle school acne and itches like a bad case of merciless chicken pocks, but I am still happy. And yes, we're tired, but you would never know what we had just endured all month. I can hear my girls back at home making fun of me, "oh Lauren, she's just on a perm-a-high bla bla…" haha We are happy yes, but happiness is temporary. It comes and goes as events in life are not always something to be happy about. What we do have though, is Joy. And when happiness is not present, joy remains.
Joy is what drives you to push through the hard times. Having joy allows you the ability to see the good though the bad, the positive through the negative. Where is joyfulness derived? Why are we joyful? Joy comes from knowledge of the Lord, and we are joyful because we have faith in him, and all of his promises. We are promised that our heavenly father knows what we need. We are told not to worry (Matthew 6:32-34.) Because we walk in faith, we keep in step with the holy spirit. Furthermore, those who walk with Jesus Christ, bear love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galations 5:22.) We are not joyful on our own, but because of Christ who is in us.
~Amen
Going back to the parable of the sower; if you continue to read the parable, you see that Jesus had to further explain the parables meaning to the crowds. His disciples asked him why he spoke in parables, and He went on to say that the secrets of the kingdom have been given to them, but not to everyone.."though seeing, not all will see, and though hearing, not all will hear or understand" (Matthew 11.) He breaks down the parable like this:
"When anyone hears about the Kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed that was thrown on the open path. The one who received the seed that fell on the rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has not yet rooted in his faith, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of his new faith, he quickly falls away from the Lord. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop that grows strong, and is able to spread his knowledge and joy of the Lord."
When I read this passage this morning, I was reminded to be thankful. I am blessed because after this month, I am still joyful. We have heard, and have the knowledge of the Kingdom revealed to us and continue to have faith in it. If we can remain joyful through Month 1 of the race, I am positive that we will continue through the next 10 as well. We continue to ask for your prayers. We pray that seeds we disperse will not fall amongst the rock or thorns but on good soil. Fore it is through knowledge and understanding that new faith is made possible. It is by the same faith in Jesus that we can walk in joy.
I wanted to thank everyone who has supported me the past few months. Update: I am currently at $9,700 and only need $1,300 by March!!!! Thank you again, I love and miss you all, XOXO
