(a guest post from Rich Dixon.)

My wife’s dad is a (mostly retired) farmer.

I’m not sure a farmer ever truly retires. Dwight still operates within an almost innate sense, developed over a lifetime, of the unhurried rhythms of nature and the land.

It’s springtime. Right now, for many of us, life feels shut down. Businesses closed, events canceled, important medical procedures postponed. March, April, May – when will life begin once again?

To Dwight, springtime means planting time. He talks of gardens and neighbors working their fields, because that’s what happens in springtime.

Farmers can’t defer this work until it’s convenient. They can’t wait until “things open up.” Seeds planted later won’t have time to grow into mature crops.

Springtime is planting time.

+ + +

Jesus told a few planting stories. You can read three of them here. The point, though, is that His kingdom is a lot like farming. Seeds, good soil, cultivating, careful nurturing – many lessons in these parables, but there’s a simple principle behind them.

A seed can’t sprout, grow, and mature unless it’s planted.

+ + +

It’s tempting, right now, to hunker down and wait for things to get better. But I wonder…might this springtime be planting time?

I don’t know what that might mean for you. I suspect it’s different for each person. But perhaps, in this crazy situation, God’s preparing some good soil for you and me. Maybe he’s just waiting for a conversation about how we might use this as an opportunity to plant a seed or two.

What if, months or years from now, you and I point to something remarkable that sprouted from the seemingly-barren dirt of a pandemic? Something that brings shade, comfort, and nourishment. Something that grew from a seed planted in faith when all seemed lost?

It’s springtime. Maybe it’s planting time.