If I had been born a man, I would have spent my life studying, preaching, and writing.  I would have aspired to advance the Kingdom of heaven by discipling the nations.  What a glorious and fulfilling destiny!

I wasn’t born a man.

I am a seed.

I fall into the dark, damp earth and lie underneath.  Hidden.  Unknown.

Where no one can see, life silently swells.  Then bursts. Tiny, strong tendrils reach down, grabbing the earth, anchoring the life.  Tender, slender arms stretch up…searching for sun.  They shyly find it, peeking their heads between clumps of brown.

Souls are born.  Hearts are shaped.

Here, in my quiet, I am not raising culture-filler.

I am raising Kingdom-Builders.

I am sharpening arrows in the shadows…each one strategically created, miraculously birthed, and purposefully aimed for a different destiny.

I am focused.  Here in the dark, I can see clearly.

Through the fog, I look far.

Mighty Red Woods fill the earth, stretching to the sky, praising their Creator for all eternity.

His Radiance surrounds me in my night.

Joy bubbles.  Grows.   Spills.

I am beloved.

I am blessed.

I am a seed.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”  John 12:24