"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." 1 Corinthians 3:6-7
Do you ever stop and think about all the people who God put in your path to plant seeds and water them?
I did not grow up in a Jesus following, Bible teaching, Christ honoring home. Yes, it was a good home. I was loved and cared for well. I have no complaints. But I was raised in a home that followed a traditional religion and practiced that religion's traditions only during certian holidays and to check off the right boxes that my parent's thought were their obligations.
My first encounter with a seed planter, occured some time after Annie and the Flying Frogs. A new family moved in to the townhouse attatched to ours. They were from somewhere down south and I was ingtrigued by their accents and their different ways. I have two distinct memories of this family.
The first is the time the son, who was about my age, asked me if I was a born again Christian. "A what?" In his youth, he didn't know how to explain as tactfully as some adults might but, he cut to the chase and without mincing any words told me, "You don't even know what it is? Well, then you're not one and you are going to HELL!"
I'll admit, if I had my choice, that might not be how I would have planted the first seeds of my Christian life. However, there it is. My first encounter with a powerful God. A God who can not be in the presence of sin and therefore I would be going to hell as I was certainly not born again. Seeds...there were many more to come-but that was the first.
The second memory I have of this family has nothing to do with planting seeds. It's all about alien encounters. I am not kidding.
The same son and I were lying on the hood of my father's car one dark evening. Just chatting. Not about being hell bound, or anything that serious...just chatting. All of the sudden a noise -so loud -boomed out of the silence. It was similar to the whirring of helicopter wings, but so very loud the we feared it must be about to land on our front lawn!
We both instantly sat up! We peered into the dark sky-for any sign of something that could make such a monstrous noise! Then, over the top of our townhouse, suddenly, we saw it!
An alien space ship!!!
It was huge and black and had red lights on it. There were no helicopter blades or anything that looked even remotely like a plane or helicopter.
The noise was deafening and the flying object appeared to be about to land on the top of our homes!
All of this occured in a matter of seconds and I remember once our eyes cast upon the ship, we both let out a scream and simoultaneously ran into our own homes.
From the safety of my bedroom, I called my neighbor friend. I said, "Tell me I'm not going crazy! Did you just see that?" We agreed to each draw a picture of what we saw and then meet again to compare our drawings. They were very similar.
The end.
Seriously.
That's the end. I don't even remember telling my parents or any friends or anything!! I don't remember checking to see if anything was on the news. I remember nothing past sharing our drawings and the amazing reality of feeling like we had just seen something incredible and once in a lifetime.
That was an incredibly exciting moment and created a very vivid memory from my childhood. For many years later I would remember that moment and not at all remember the time he told me I was going to hell.
But...God sent others. More seed planters. More waterers. And in time, the first memory. The memory of him asking if I was a Christian...began to overshadow the alien encounter. It doesn't matter how incredible or exciting that moment was. It doesn't matter why it happened, what it was or why it is one of the few childhood memories I have. Soon, I understood that all that matters is the God of the Universe that created me and all things and His still quiet voice calling me to him...the one I could hear clearly...even through the amazing noise made by our alien visitor!!!!
Hope you are having a blessed week! Wink!
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