On a mission trip to Haiti in 2014, one of my many tasks was to distribute to local farmers some very special watermelon seeds. I was inspired and moved by the great desire and appreciation these subsistence Haitian farmers had for this meager allotment of seeds.

These seeds were life! These seeds were hope! These seeds would bring food to their families, stability to their personal economy, meaning and purpose to their toil. And you better believe that they had prepared their soil. They had plowed the way for the seed to take root and be fruitful.

How does the parable of the sower, seed, and soil from Matthew 13 speak to us today?

God is the sower of all good seed but partners with us to help farm for the kingdom. I submit that the sowers of God's word could include those who share the word of God with humility and gratitude. They give witness to God's love and the truth of Jesus Christ with compassion, reason, confidence, and courage! They scatter seeds of the gospel and also help cultivate the soil that is our souls. They are not perfect but are genuine. They are those family members, friends, colleagues, strangers, ancestors, and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, who have had a serendipitous part to play in our spiritual formation.

I pray that Watermelon Seeds, in some modest way, will perhaps enlighten a deeper understanding, appreciation, and recognition for all those seed scatterers that come into our lives!