Weeping and Sowing

Psalm 126:6 NIV “Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.”

At times over the last few years, I’ve been confused, grieving, angry, rebellious, and disillusioned.  All normal parts of being a human dealing with life’s tragedies and disappointments.  I’ll call that “weeping.” 

We all have “weeping” times in life.  We all have joyful times.  Highs and lows, ebbs and flows.  That’s the way life is.  Seasons are constantly changing.  Somehow along my way, I got the impression that a time of weeping was no time to be sowing.  And truthfully, many of my weepier days, the last thing I feel like doing is “sowing” into the work God has for me.  I put away my gift, quit writing, quit speaking, quit ministering and focused on the weeping.

My dad’s a pretty awesome grower of vegetables.  Over the years, though I’m afraid I might not have his green thumb, I’ve learned some things about sowing and harvesting.  Daddy’s corn is without doubt the best in the world.  It’s a taste I look forward to every year, bringing back memories of Christmases, Thanksgivings, pretty much any happy time of celebration when we’d eat our favorite family meals.  Some of that corn would no doubt appear on the table.  Harvest:  enjoying the end result of a season of long, hard, hot work.  It’s the time to dance, laugh, eat, sing and celebrate. 

But not every day is harvest.  In order to get to harvest day, there first must be planting day, then many days between of watering, hoeing, weeding, fertilizing, and dealing with insects and pests. There is no harvest without these in between days of sweat, work, heat, and monotony.

 Thankfully, every day isn’t a weeping day.  Just as times of happiness don’t last forever, neither do times of sorrow.  Slowly, surely, God has been healing my heart, and as He continues to mend it together again, I’m realizing that weeping or not, I must continue to sow.  I must continue to do the work He has given me, use the gifts He’s placed in me, and develop the passion He’s ignited in me.

A few weeks ago, I ran across Psalm 126:6 and God used it to speak to me.  “He (or she) who goes out weeping, CARRYING SEED TO SOW, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with her.” 

I might be weeping, or singing, dancing or dragging.  Regardess, I can’t stop carrying seed to sow.  I can’t stop doing what God’s put in me to do.  Weeping times will come, so will times of joy.  Sowing must go on, so that there may be times of harvest.

Today you might be weeping.  My challenge to you and me is:  Don’t let life’s times of disappointment stop you from planting your seeds, from using the gifts God has given you.  There WILL be times of joy again, and if you continue to plant, that joy can be accompanied by a harvest.

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