Tuesday / Over and Over Again
Read Mark 4: 1-9 (NLT)
Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore. He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants, so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
Think
This past Winter, we had a storm that began as rain, saturated the soil, then turned to ice. As the temperature dropped and the winds came up, an old pear tree next to my vegetable garden toppled over. It took out one panel of the wood stockade-style fence as it fell. When I opened the gate and looked into the garden to survey the damage, the tree filled the whole 35’ X 25’ area.
I was fortunate to have unusually warm, dry weather in February and March, and so began early the long labor of cutting up and hauling away the tree. For a week or so, every day I went out to the garden with my loppers. I cut away all the smallest branches first, making piles one after the other. When my hands were tired from lopping, I dragged the piles away to my brush pile in the back yard near the woods.
Up the hill, across the back yard, to the pile I went, over and over again. My feet wore a track through the muddy grass as I trudged back and forth, gradually working up to larger branches. For a while it felt like that definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. But eventually, all that was left was the trunk and branches too large for me to lop off.
My husband and his chain saw made quick work of the remains of the tree and replaced the broken fence panel all in one weekend. Just like that, the pear tree was gone, and the garden cleared for Spring planting.
I think the Sower in today’s reading must have felt something of what I felt—doing the same thing over and over and over again, waiting for results. He scattered his seeds, over and over, everywhere he went. And over and over again, he got no harvest. It was only 25% of the seeds that eventually bore fruit.
But isn’t that the point? I have to keep at it, keep trying, keep doing what God asks of me. Sometimes it may feel like insanity, but the Bible does say that God’s ways can seem like foolishness to the world. I have to listen to what God wants me to do, and I have to keep trying over and over. But I will be rewarded—my work will produce results for God.
Pray
Lord, God, Great Gardener of all Creation, thank you for your unfailing love and guidance. Thank you for always leading me where you want me to go, even if the world tells me I’m nuts. Continue to guide me and go with me as I work, sometimes doing the same things over and over. Help me keep at the task you set for me so that I can produce fruit for your kingdom. Amen.
Do
I’ve heard that practice and repetition are the two keys to learning something new. So let’s test that this week. Find a how-to video on YouTube that will teach you a new exercise routine. If you’re not at all fit, like me, pick something gentle and easy like Chair Yoga. If you’re already in pretty good shape, challenge yourself to a new practice like Tai Chi. Then take the time every day and do the routine you’ve chosen. Do it over and over and watch as repeating the same actions produces results.
The View from Mt. Hope 