Sow 'positive seeds' to reap the benefits

"A man reaps what he sows."

- Galatians 6:7 (NIV)

My friend Bonnie was outside eating tomatoes. When she finished, she threw the core filled with seeds into the vacant lot next door.

The following year her neighbor, who owned the lot, came to her door.

She explained, "I found some wild tomatoes growing in my vacant lot … and I have no idea where they came from. Would you like a few?"

Bonnie stood in awe as she grasped the tomatoes her neighbor handed to her. She thought about the principle of reaping and sowing. Who would have ever thought that the seeds she carelessly threw away some time ago would sprout up as new tomatoes?

Most of us are familiar with the popular saying, "What goes around comes around." It is another way of expressing the biblical principle of sowing and reaping.

We need to think about the seeds we are planting that will come back to us. We plant a variety of them daily. Seeds such as kindness and encouragement better ourselves and others. Seeds of jealousy and bitterness are like poison to our souls, causing ourselves and others to be miserable.

Seeds of diligence and perseverance for our health, finances, career or relationships, when continually planted, can help us reap a blessing in these areas.

However, the opposing seeds of laziness and self-centeredness are sometimes carelessly tossed without a thought, just as Bonnie tossed the tomatoes into the field.

God is our gardener, instructing us to watch what we plant, and where we are planting. The choice is ours. It helps remembering that harvest time, the day we get back what we give, will come.

• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She is available to speak to your church or community group. She can be contacted at Annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413.