Think about the seeds you are sowing in your life

"A man reaps what he sows."(Galatians 6:7 NIV).

Each fall I remember one of my favorite inspirational stories. I want to share it with you:

Bonnie's neighbor stood at the door holding two small, red, ripe tomatoes.

"I found some wild tomatoes growing in my empty lot. Would you like a few?" she asked.

Bonnie thought back to a year ago, when she stood in her yard enjoying a luscious garden tomato. With juice dripping down her lips and hands, she had eaten most of the ripened fruit. Then, like a pitcher winding up for release, she'd pitched the uneaten portion overflowing with seeds into the vacant lot next door.

As she reached out to take the tomato she pondered, "Who would have thought the tomato portion with seeds I carelessly threw away last year would sprout up top and produce more tomatoes?"

As Bonnie ate, she thought about the principle of sowing and reaping.

We need to think the seeds we plant will come back to us. Every day we plant a variety of them. Seeds such as kindness and encouragement will produce feelings of good will. Seeds of bitterness and jealousy poison our soul, causing misery.

Seeds of diligence and perseverance to change our health, finances, career or relationships can help us reap blessings in a variety of areas. The seeds of laziness and self-centeredness are sometimes carelessly tossed without a thought and produce an unwanted harvest.

God is our gardener; he instructs us to watch what we plant. The choice is ours. It helps to remember that harvest time will come.

• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, inspirational speaker, life coach and nurse. She can be contacted at Annetteebudzban@aol.com.