What kind of seed are you?

I can't sleep, so I started to write. Read Alma 32 last night and it got me thinking about seeds and made me wonder.

What kind of seed am I? 

Am I a stalwart oak with roots deep and strong? Or am I a beautiful buttercup? A giant redwood or am I an elegant lily.

We are each seeds of a different kind. How will you ever know what kind of seed you are unless you plant yourself, nourish and care for yourself.

Indeed, we become the combination of the seeds we plant in our gardens.

In Alma 32:28 we learn about the analogy of planting the seed of our faith in Christ.

“Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.”

What can you do after your seed has sprouted? Water it as often as needed, dig about the roots, fertilize it, keep the weeds from drowning it out. Most importantly, make sure it see’s the sunshine, everyday. Sure, there are stormy days and seasons of hibernation, but these times are cyclical, after every storm the sun comes out. After every winter, comes spring.

When I read books, I like to compare it to climbing a mountain. There is a beginning at the trail-head as the climb begins. There are many struggles to get to the top with some beautiful views along the way. Once finally at the top though, you can see all around with an unaltered and breathtaking perspective of your surroundings. As with every journey, we enjoy the route back down the mountain. The views more stunning as the focus shifts from exertion to achieve the goal, to reflecting on the journey.

To me, the pinnacle of the book of Mormon, is not when Christ comes to visit the people of the America’s, although that is a stunning vista. To me, it’s when Alma teaches about the parable of planting a seed.

Each of us are a child of God. A seed in His garden. The gardener knows what he’s planted and where, but the rest of us have to wait and see what sprouts up. Often times, and to the untrained eye, we are unidentifiable until we’ve grown out of our adolescence.

In conference this fall, we heard an analogy about a biome in which the trees grew up with no wind, no adversity. So when they grew to maturity, some simply fell over because their roots never grew deep enough to carry their own weight. As a parent, it hurts to watch my children struggle through their trials. I often wish I could bare their burden so their lives will be easier than mine was. Oh, what a disservice this is to them. If they don’t get the adversity they need in their youth, to grow their roots deep and strong, They may fall over and fail as adults with much more tragic consequences.

It’s been so difficult to let them learn, let them fail. Let them grow in their understanding and see the cruelty and harshness of the world around them while under the shade of my, sometimes more resilient branches. As time has grown on, they don’t always and won’t have the safety and security of my protection to help them after a storm. Getting a scraped knee for example. Instead, teaching them that they can put on their own bandage, if needed. That they don’t need me to do it for them. As a parent, one of those small things for me is when they started trimming or chewing their own fingernails. I still want to trim their nails for them or at least ask them how they are doing and critique them to have well manicured hands.

Without adversity in our lives, we are setting ourselves up for failure. I’m not suggesting to go out and look for it. Like the wind, the rain and all kinds of weather, it will come. What we can and should be doing is preparing for those times of hardship by soaking in the Son daily. Getting in our vitamin D. (doctrine) Storing up that energy for the times when we’ll need it most.

We will plant many different seeds throughout our lives. Seeds of hope, seeds of knowledge, seeds of experience, talents of every kind. When I learn something new, I am planting another seed. You never know just how strong each seed can be or just how beautiful a thing it will grow to be, unless you nourish it and work at it daily. Ask any successful athlete, surgeon, pilot or craftsman, how much time and practice it took to master their craft. Indeed, the seeds or weeds we nourish in our lives are the ones that will flourish. Let us all grow into the stunning garden our Heavenly Father knows us to be.

The master creator allows us to create our own gardens, wonderful and unique in their combinations. Adding our garden to His, is the purpose.

What kind of seed are you?