Tomato Seeds

In a moment of inspiration, my beloved bride, Melanie, wrote these thoughts last week. As always, she moved me, from simple imagery to profound meaning. I post this to honor my heart's companion and best friend. Thank you sweetheart!

I was able to visit my 88 year old Grandmother in Richmond recently. She gave me a gift. A half ripened tomato from her garden. I held it as if it were the greatest gift and told her I would "treasure it forever!" We laughed...

This single tomato made the trip from Virginia to Tennessee and it sat on my window sill for a week or so, ripening in the bright TN sun. I smiled each time I saw it as I remembered our visit. I hesitated to slice it and eat it, for then the gift would be gone. And that got me thinking...seeds! I would make this a true "heirloom tomato." I would save the seeds from this delicious tomato and use them to grow more of this delectable treat next summer and I would remember her sweet gift each time one was harvested from the garden. As I was scraping out the seeds from this lone tomato, another thought occurred to me...

"Wow, there are SO MANY!" I thought of God's creation and how amazing that from this one small tomato that THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS more could be produced. The exponential impact that this one small tomato could have boggles the mind. From one, comes many. This is not only true of tomatoes, but I thought of other fruits and vegetables produced by God. Watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, oranges etc...We often view these seeds as a nuisance... an annoyance to our enjoyment of the sweetness that lies within...

What if instead of discarding these seeds into the trash, what if I treasured them as I should? What if I saw them for the potential that they are? LIFE! Especially in a world where starvation is rampant and apathy reigns...

I thought, "How simple!" Starvation around the world could be impacted to a great degree if we only saved the seeds that we simply discard as trash. You only need soil, seeds, water and sun. But then it hit me, you also need time. It is this element that is most vital...TIME...I don't take the TIME. The potential is there, I just don't make the effort. What a waste!! If only we saved the thousands of discarded seeds and used them to produce life what an impact we could have on our world locally and globally. Landfills are literally filled with rotting potential for life...

God somehow whispered a spiritual lesson to me in all of this as well. That is usually the point, but the noise of my world often deafens me.

Each of us, as small and seemingly insignificant as a tomato seed, can produce life and have a huge impact on our world both physically and spiritually. We can produce ripples through the lives of others like a pebble tossed into a pond on a cool Fall morning.

We just need to take the time...

-Melanie Barham

Lance Armstrong, Bono and World Redemption

Ok, I start by Googling “Tour de France” to see where Lance is in the standings. There’s a link to an article about Africa by one of my favorite modern “saints” and thirty mintues later this came out...

Lately I find myself craving tangible signs of redemption. As I say that, I’m only too well aware that Jesus warned “a wicked and adulterous generation” that no sign would be given them except “the sign of Jonah” (Mt. 16:4). I don’t think my longing is one of rebellious unbelief, though: I’m in this faith-thing for the long haul. I do choose to trust the God who already displayed his sign-language at the Red Sea, Cross and Empty Tomb. He doesn’t owe me anything and he certainly doesn’t need to prove anything after that. I’m with this God who raises the dead. But I must admit, it is so refreshing to see tangible expressions of God’s new life working in the dark places of our world. I long to see Jesus respond to us as he did to John’s disciples: “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (Lk. 7:22).

In his kindness, I must say, God has responded to this longing. Not as often, or as neatly, or as predictably as I would like. But I am so grateful for the places I have seen his fingerprints and have heard the whispers of his presence lately. I have seen the audacity of faith proclaimed by his people in the host of funerals our church has had to endure in recent days. I have seen and heard the miracle of life in the words of a friend and the smile of a baby that all of the doctors said would not be alive today. And then this afternoon, I came across the words of one of my favorite prophets, Bono, who testifies about redemption on a societal scale on the very continent which has witnessed unspeakable brutality and death (see the article “Rebranding Africa” at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/opinion/10bono.html?ex=1262836800&en=805a3a73547a8e54&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=OP-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M105-ROS-0709-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click

No, these glimpses do not quench my soul’s thirst for this world to be different than it is. But at least today, I find these hints of grace awakening hope that the promise really is true: “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed” (Rom. 8:18).