Be Like A Maple Seed

God knows how to make a seed right.   

I am amazed EVERY spring when the Maple seeds begin to fall from the trees.  They really don't fall but fly.  How amazing is God that He would put a wing on a seed?

When I was a child, I picked them up, tossed them into the air and watched them spiral back down to the ground.  I never thought much about how remarkable they were. (I believe we called them helicopters.)

But when I was in my early twenties, I fell madly in love with Jesus.  When this happened, I saw most everything differently.  The Maple seed now astonished me for the first time in my life.  How incredible it was to sit in the back yard and watch hundreds of these seeds fly though the air!  I marveled at their creator and how incredible it was that He would consider placing a wing on a seed so that it would fly in the wind and be carried away from the tree it came from to grow into a tree somewhere else.

Now, in midlife, I am STILL amazed by these seeds!  They remind me of that tender time when I fell in love with Jesus.  They also remind me of Christians.  

Matthew 4:18-22

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.  They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fisherman.

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”  At once, they left their nets and followed Him. 

Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John.  They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets.  Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him. 

The scripture says AT ONCE – they left their nets and followed Him and IMMEDIATELY they left the boat and their FATHER and followed Him.      

We are also called to follow Jesus but sometimes we find it difficult.  We may want to follow our parents.  We may want to follow a pastor or a particular denomination.  We may want to follow anything, it seems, except Jesus. 

I know in my life, I found it difficult because the most spiritual person I knew was my dad who was also my pastor.  I loved my dad and I loved my church.  I wanted to continue in that denomination and did NOT want to leave it.  But as I grew as a Christian, God called me away from that church.  He placed me in another church where I flourished.  

I found it very difficult to leave what I’d known my whole life.  I didn’t want to disappoint my dad.  I didn’t want to hurt him.  But I was called to follow Jesus not my dad.  Looking back, it was exactly what I needed at the time. 

So, be like the Maple seed.  

When the time is right for you to let go and fly, allow the wind to carry you to the place God has for you.  Trust Him.  Believe what He says in the Bible.  He will NOT lead you in the wrong direction but to a good place.  A place for you to grow and flourish because that's what healthy things do.

 Follow JESUS and nothing else.