Forgive me for ranting for a moment!

Quite frankly, this drives me crazy.  It goes something like this… “I just got an awesome promotion.  You reap what you sow!”  “I just got a fancy new item!  You reap what you sow!”  “I made straight A’s!  You reap what you sow!”  “I was miraculously healed from some awful affliction!  You reap what you sow!”

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I don’t disagree!

Yes, that does mean that I actually agree with them.  We do reap what we sow.  When things are going well, quite often it is the results of seeds that we have sown.  However, I think part of what bothers me about this trend is that it seems to discount grace.  While it is true that some of the good things that happen to me are the result of seeds that I have sown, other things are completely due to the grace of God and nothing else.  Some of my blessings are despite the seeds that I have sown rather than because of them.

I am sometimes guilty of sowing the wrong seeds!

Sometimes life gives me lemons because I have been sowing lemon seeds!  You reap what you sow.

I make bad choices.  I do the wrong things.  I say the wrong things.  I plant lemon seeds in my life that occasionally reap a bountiful harvest of lemons.  Life doesn’t always give me lemons.  Sometimes I give myself lemons.

I guess the part that really bothers me is that in this highly edited world of social media, people are more forthcoming about their lemons than they are about their lemon seeds.

I want to see more people say things like… “Something big and expensive broke.  You reap what you sow.”  “My marriage is on the rocks.  You reap what you sow.”  “My children aren’t respectful enough.  You reap what you sow.”  “My job isn’t going as well as I had hoped.  You reap what you sow.”

I do realize that sometimes bad things happen despite our best efforts.  Sometimes life really does hand us a lemon that was not sown by our actions nor inaction.  However, it is far more often the case that we caused it.

I just wish people would take more personal responsibility for their own lives.  Our lives are the cumulative effect of all of our choices made to this point.  I have created most of my own messes.  I have created most of my own problems.  When life hands me lemons, I am reminded to stop planting lemon seeds.  I want to plant more sugar cane in my life.  The sugar cane always helps to take the bite out of the lemons.

I want to sow more seeds of kindness, mercy, gentleness, forgiveness, patience, and love.  I want to see the apparent meanness of others as hurt, stress, and discouragement.  I want to see others with the same grace and kindness that the Lord sees me.  Perhaps then I might actually have a harvest of blessings that I have sown.  I’m still working on it!  I am the “you” in the image below.