Around 2005, my pastor, William Gates, gave a series of sermons about seasons and seed planting. During those Sundays, he emphasized why we should plant several seeds during the right seasons and harvest appropriately. Some will wither, others will be blown away by the wind, while a couple will be devoured by weeds, droughts, or floods.
I remember that service so vividly. Spring was peeping through the Chicago clouds and I could barely stand without swerving during Praise and Worship. It wasn't a Holy Ghost, here come the shoats, with tongues, swerve, then faint, movement. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) had just aired its greedy head the month before I joined Living Faith Community Church.
MS is a greedy little demon because it tried to steal my walk, talk, vision, balance, and joy. My body was broken, my stride was clumsy, and my brain…. My poor brain looked like you don't even want to know. Yet, I still stood, prayed, and praised like I was healed. Remember, it was 2005, and Israel and New Breed had just dropped three albums over the past year.
"You have turned my sorrow to JOY!" slurred out my mouth.
I sang to God with my eyes closed, begging, and pleading with Him to, “Turn my mourning to dancing.”
Dancing isn’t my thing but, knowing my body was directing my mind and not my mind directing my body was wrong. This had to get turned in the right direction! I sang and cried. I imagined myself walking and moving as I did in 2004. I saw myself healthy and married with children. It was real and my seeds were being planted with every lyric. I knew God would turn my life around. I didn't know when but, there was NO one who could tell me He wouldn't!
God doesn't lie, He HAD to turn my life around! I thanked Him in advance, “And, I thank You, Lord, I THANK YOU, LORD!!!”
After Praise and Worship, Pastor Will continued his Seed Planting series. I wrote my list of seeds to plant. I prayed over it and believed it would happen. I thought they would grow overnight. God didn’t move like that, at all. Then the tests, trials, and failures had to happen. Yet, it never stopped me from believing.
Over the next decade, God humbled me, taught me, and corrected me, over and over again. Even STRETCHED me more than an advanced yoga class. But, He NEVER left me, no matter how I often tried to ignore Him.
God is a good Father, He’s THE FATHER of all fathers. Once I learned that my seeds FLOURISHED. Understanding the role of a father changed my prayer life with God. My parents were pretty strict but, it was only to keep my brother and me safe and focused as maneuvered the streets of Chicago. We hated it but as adults, we know our parents only wanted the best for us.
Just like God only wants the best for all his kids. He does the same thing as our earthly parents but better, in my opinion. Over the years, I’ve learned to trust Him and always seek Him first. My trust in Him became like no other after seeing Him as my Father. Now, I trust Him more than I trust myself (for real)!
God told me not to go to Texas in 2004. I did anyway and MS popped up. He told me cancer was coming. I never spoke it into existence and, He took it away over five years ago. During the dark hours before dawn in the spring of 2005, God spoke, “It’s All to Come,” as I prayed. I planted so many seeds that night and literally hearing His voice confirmed my prayers had to get answered.
It’s 2022, and those seeds are manifesting!! He’s turned so much around. My thinking and perspective shifted just by trusting Him. Just like in any relationship, the more you trust your partner the more you believe in what they say. Those seeds didn’t become mustard trees overnight. As my faith and friendship with God strengthened, so did some of those roots. The closer I clung to Him, the faster they grew into fruition. Sure, there are still seeds lying dormant, while others are one storm away from bursting open! Hundreds have been planted since 2005. I know and trust, “It’s All to Come,” because God said it, and, “I thank You, Lord.”
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