Recently we celebrated three years of running The Cause. What a wild and wonderful ride it’s been. During this season I’ve been taking the time to reflect back on all God has built into The Cause and look forward to what’s next.
As I looked towards the future I had a vision of the dreams that God had given me being like seeds. God showed me that there were two seeds in my hand. Then, God asked me to surrender them, and plant them in the ground for God to take care of and grow. Letting go of the seeds felt terribly counter-intuitive.
The first seed was about funding and empowering leaders who bring the Kingdom of God around the world, which is what we are always working towards with The Cause.
The other seed was my future family. I was afraid that one seed would flourish and the other would be choked out. I’ve heard so many women talk about how it’s an either/or situation with ministry and family. Many well-meaning people have warned me that, eventually, I will have to choose one or the other.
Instead, God showed me a picture of the two seeds weaving together and making one ultra powerful seed that grew into a strong, vibrant plant. The hard shell around the seeds, that served them well while waiting to be planted, broke open and allowed them to meld together. Our God is the creator of both/and. Both sun and moon, land and sea, ministry and family. God orchestrates our lives into symphonies played on the instrument strings of divine tension.
I don’t believe that my experience is unique. At this moment, God is collectively doing mighty works under the ground. Even though we can’t fully see it yet, movement is happening. The shells around our seeds are breaking down, the old is sloughing off, and what’s beginning to emerge is beyond our wildest dreams.
This work, although deeply personal, isn’t about our personal lives, this is about the Bride of Christ being prepared. It’s about ushering the Kingdom of God to Earth. We are coming up on a time where it will be made evident that the world desperately needs the visions that have been planted. God has been preparing leaders around the world for this time.
My husband Nathan is a master gardener. On our first date he told me that he loved horticulture. I had absolutely no idea what that word even meant. Then he explained, “I love studying creation. The best way to know an artist is to study their work, right? So, when I study plants and biological systems, I’m looking into the heart of God.” As he spoke, my heart swooned and before our second date I told all my friends that Nathan was “the one.”
God has used Nathan’s love of gardening to unearth many deep Kingdom truths. Here are just a few…
Seeds need to be planted long before they are harvested. When Nathan plants a seed, it takes months for it to grow into a plant and start producing. In order to reap a harvest in the Fall, the seeds have to go into the ground at the end of Winter.
When God puts a seed of vision in our life, it is often a vision that’s being lovingly placed in us for the future. If we look at those future visions in light of our present reality, they can feel unjointed and out of context. It’s easy to doubt the vision God has given us when we look at it in the context of our present reality. But, God is asking us to plant for the future, and trust that God knows our future reality and needs. We are gently invited to place our vision and dreams into the earth and to co-labor with God in preparation for what’s to come.
Even when it looks like nothing is happening above ground, there is movement under the surface. I’m not a patient person. Instant gratification is my jam. The first year Nathan planted our garden, the waiting felt endless. It seemed like the seeds took forever to sprout. What I didn’t realize, was that every day there was no change on the surface, big things were happening under the ground, I just couldn’t see them.
As we surrender and plant our God-given visions, we have no idea WHEN God will allow them to sprout into life. We don’t know if it will be a week, a month, or years. But, we can trust that throughout this time, God is doing a deep and sanctifying work. God is fortifying us so we are able to carry the vision. God is deepening our roots through intimacy with Jesus, bringing the right people into our lives, and ultimately preparing the conditions so the vision that we have been given has room to flourish.
God is doing wildly more than we can ask or imagine with our planted
seeds. A new season is coming on us as a community.
Very soon, we will see the visions that have been nurtured under the ground
burst forth into new life and lead to a glorious harvest.
