… "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."
Mark 4:30-32
The problems and complexities of today’s world seem so overwhelming. In comparison we seem so insignificant and powerless. We are just a blip of a life here on earth. Well, Jesus says in this passage in Mark that there is much we can do. We can be seed planters. Seed planters in the Kingdom of God. Through the power of God’s Kingdom, we can make a difference when we even plant the smallest of seeds, a tiny mustard seed. Granted, we may not even see the results in our lifetime. But Jesus challenges us to be seed planters anyway.
There is a place in Northern California along a winding gravel road where when you turn a certain corner during a certain time of the year, you will witness a glorious sight. It looks as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers are planted in majestic, swirling patterns - great ribbons and swaths of lemon yellow, saffron and butter yellow. There are five acres of flowers.
On this property is a well-kept A-frame house that looks small and modest in the midst of all that glory. If you get out of your car you will see a poster on the patio.
"Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" is the headline. The first answer is a simple one: "50,000 bulbs," it reads. The second answer is, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet and very little brain." The third answer is, "Began in 1958."
There is a woman who, more than 60 years before, had begun - one bulb at a time - to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of indescribable magnificence, beauty and inspiration.
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