Plant With Wisdom

Before my dad’s ranching days when he raised beef, he farmed and raised corn. One of my favorite activities in the spring was to follow behind the plow and pickup fish-worms. They were plentiful and plump in the rich, black soil of Pierce County, Nebraska. Our farm made for a self sufficient fishing operation…fish-worms out the front door and the Elkorn River out the back door.

If you’ve never smelled the aroma of fresh, overturned earth in the damp spring, you’ve missed out. It’s a special…well, earthy smell and to me it’s invigorating. As an adult, I often go to my vegetable garden to get my head straight. After hoeing the rows I leave in a better frame of mind than when I arrive. I thought it was the tranquility, sunshine, and completing a laborious task that had an uplifting effect on me. But now, I learn there is a hidden ingredient in our gardens and plowed fields that contributes to this feeling of well-being. You see, scientists have found that there is a micro-organism called myobacterium vacii that lives in soil, compost, and leaf mold. It is what causes the soil to have that earthy rich aroma and not only that – they have discovered it to be an anti-depressant. When the organism gives off that nice smell it triggers our brain’s neurotransmitters which then release serotonin – known as the happy hormone. Just one tablespoon of soil can contain 50 billion of these microbes. I now look at my potted geranium with a whole new respect! Studies with animals are showing that playing in the dirt may have the same effects as taking Prozac, but without the side effects.

Once my dad had plowed the field, I would watch him plant the corn. Within a couple of weeks, little green shoots would sprout up all across the field. Barring any hailstorms and enough rain, golden kernels of corn would be harvested in the fall.

The seed corn dealers made sure that Dad was given “good” seeds to plant that produced good stalks and good ears. Just as the persons preparing the seed sacks to sell sift the bad seeds from the good seeds, we must sift through the seeds that we plant in our souls. Satan loves nothing better than to scatter seeds of discouragement, doubt, shame, and guilt into our fertile souls. He has devious ways of accomplishing this – through the things we watch on TV or the Internet, the books we read, the friends we keep, the places we go. As Christians,we should choose wisely. Would you be embarrassed to invite Jesus to come in and watch what you’re watching on TV or to accompany you on your evening outing or to look over your shoulder at what you are reading? It can be tempting to start thinking it’s okay when society is moving in a direction away from what God’s Word tells us is true. “Everyone else is doing it.” We must think twice about buying into that kind of seed. Bad seed produces inferior crops. I encourage you to wrap your seeds in scripture, prayer, and Christian friendships that speak encouragement into your lives. These are things that produce good plants and good fruit.

No where will we find better encouragement than in 1 John: 4:4. The One who is living in you is far greater than the one who is in the world. Now that’s a truth to fertilize.

Until two weeks….keep on readin’ and I’ll keep on writin’.