Wintertide Tractations: Plant

Wow! Already it's been a week since starting Wintertide Tractations!  Here is: Plant.

Start.

When I came to this word, I was stumped.  "Planting" is not something I typically think of at Christmastime.  Sure, my dad's greens that he planted for the autumn season are thriving, especially after the abundant rain the Lord sent us recently.  But greens aren't what automatically come to mind when I think of Christmas, and admittedly, Christmas is primarily on my mind these days. 

Especially since my last final of this semester was today, Christmas break and celebrating the beauty of the season with my family and friends is at the top of my mental list.  But there's another type of planting that should never go out-of-season in my mind.  That is, planting seeds of the Gospel.  The Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ, God's Son, became a Man, grew up, suffered a human existence without any sin, invested His whole life into undeserving people.  Then, our dear Savior died on a brutal cross, experiencing God's wrath that I, and every other sinner deserves.  Three days after His death, Jesus brought Himself back to life through His Divine power.  This is the reason that Christmas means so much to me; it's not just about a little baby in a stable, but about the Son of God Who came out of love for mankind!

Recently, the Lord has been giving me the opportunity to talk to some people about Him.  Before I pulled out of my driveway this morning heading to school, I asked my parents if they would pray that I would have opportunities to talk to my classmates and that I would recognize the opportunities that the Lord was giving me. 

As I left the classroom, one of my classmates was leaving, too, and we naturally started up a conversation.  We chatted about Christmas traditions and I laughed about the fact that a week into Christmas my family didn't have our decorations up because they had sweetly waited on me to get done with my classes so I could help.  Suddenly as we walked together, I realized: this is the opportunity I had asked my family to pray about!  All semester long I hadn't had the opportunity to talk to this classmate by herself like I had wanted and the Lord opened up the door for me to do so!  It came so natural, without any effort on my part. 

I would like the Lord to use me, to bring souls to Himself, to plant seeds in the hearts of those around me and somehow use me as He does it.  At the end of my days on this earth, may I be able, like Paul to say, "I have planted, [others] watered; but God gave the increase." (1 Corinthians 3:6.)  As the Lord gives me life and mercy, may I also have a humble heart to say, "So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." (v.7)  Maybe Christmas is more about planting than I'd ever really thought.