I am blessed to be able to be in Florida with my family for our Spring Break trip.  If you’ve never been to Anna Maria Island Florida, I highly recommend it. It is family friendly and the beaches are very nice. It is not to far from Tampa Florida.

There is a story in the Bible about a farmer who sows his seed among four different soils. Some seed fell on the ground, some fell on a path and some fell on rocky places.  And finally some seed fell on good soil. The first three soils produced little to no crops but the seed that fell on the good soil produced a crop a 100 times more plentiful than anywhere else.  Seems like a pretty simple story to understand, right? Some soils are just not that conducive for optimal growth. I wonder, though, why the farmer didn’t sow the seed in the good soil in the first place?  Was it windy that day and some seed fell where it wasn’t supposed to go or was the farmer just being careless?

We don’t know for sure why but the practical implication of this story has an important lesson for us today.   

When we picture Spring, we picture growth, right? But what happened before the growth? A seed was sowed. The farmer had to take the first step to get the process started. So maybe for you, your first step was to join a health club so you could lose some weight, or maybe it was to meet with someone about  re-evaluating your career, or maybe you needed to speak with a counselor to learn how you could strengthen your marriage, or possibly you intended to read as much as you could about how to kick a bad habit—the possibilities are endless.  

If I could give one piece of advice when it comes to “sowing seeds” in the good soil of your life, it would be flexibility. Easy to say, hard to do for many people. It’s too easy to throw in the towel when a challenge comes along or there is a setback. In 2018, I never thought I would be changing my career, but that is how life goes, and sometimes you just have to play with the cards you’re dealt. The key is not to allow yourself to get bitter, but treat it as an opportunity to get better.  The truth is, we are all going to face challenges. Illness, financial struggles, challenges within our family, work, and friendships—Our challenges will always be there. They don’t define us, they shape us into who we were destined to become. Remember, It’s how we face them that means the difference between growth and stagnation.

One more thing, don’t compare your life to anyone else.  We are all unique and no path is the same. God loves you and has a great plan for your life. Sometimes we just have to go through the hard times in order to get us ready for the great things that are coming.   

What about you? How do you keep yourself motivated when you are going through a challenging season in your life?  How do you know if you are sowing seeds in good soil that will produce a good crop in your life? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. And if you enjoy this post, share with your followers on social media so they can connect through our online community, too!

Your Virtual Life Mentor,

Doug