Inflection: Seeds that changed

It's so good to smell Spring in the air even if you live in a place where you aren't necessarily seeing things popping up from the ground yet. I have been so struck by the change in energy all around, and even though it's still rather chilly here in Minnesota, there is a sense of things being new. The tell-tale signs of change are all around us and my thoughts have leaned towards those seeds that went into the ground all those months ago, from trees and plants. Check out this quote by Cynthia Occelli.

"For a seed to achieve its greatest expression it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out, And everything changes. For someone who doesn't understand growth, it would look like complete destruction."

God tells us very early on in scripture that he planted seeds in the earth and the word for earth in biblical Hebrew is adamah, which is where we get Adam/humankind. It is true to say then that the seeds are placed within humankind by God as well. God planted seeds inside all of us.

I think it would be fair to say that in one way, shape or form we have all experienced the process of the seeds inside us, whether we have been conscious of it or not. I mean, Cynthia is right in how she describes it, if you didn't know that it was a process it would look like complete destruction, and here we are, in whatever form our wintered bodies can show up on this new day and well, just as we are rising up, and just under the surface, with growing energy, the seeds of new life are ready to emerge from the earth.

Spring is such a forward-feeling season, and as I have thought about the potential new life that is slowly coming to the light, I find that if I don't look back and forward during this season, I will miss an opportunity for even bigger growth. God is continually telling His people in scripture to remember and that's what this looking backwards and forwards feels like. To remember the parts of the story that will encourage inner discernment as new life comes forth. To remember the human experiences of life that were the seeds from within us joining the cyclical pattern of creation in and around us.

On this day I would encourage us all to look at what seeds from our living past might be just about to spring up? How might we be intentional about paying attention to the new life, in new ways. And what about today gives us the power and strength to have faith for the things yet unseen and still acknowledge that really all we have is now?

Maybe Spring is all about becoming present in a new way again. It's a humbling season to embark on because none of us know what the garden of our souls will testify to after a long winter, and the things that we do know require such wisdom and discernment that despite the new energy it will be the slow and steady that leads us forward to the full experience of wholeness, growth and fruit.