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Thoughts On...
The Seeds We Plant
By Mary McSwain
I recently sat through a coaching session at my church that shed light on something I had not realized until just recently. This most recent session confirmed it, but only because it was consistent with a pattern I had seen amongst, not everyone, but many of the people I had coached.
There was a recurring theme of discouragement that I sensed as people told me about what they were, or were not, doing for the Lord or the church. The phrases I heard most often were things like: “I am not a teacher”, “I am not knowledgeable enough about the Bible to talk about it or tell someone about it”, and (somehow this one really did come up multiple times) “I am not the type of person to walk up to somebody in the grocery store and tell them about Jesus.”
The first person I heard this from had just finished telling me about her neighbors. She walks with them every Tuesday afternoon. Over the last couple years, she has invited many of them to church, and now many of those neighbors attend regularly and are involved in her small group.
Another woman I sat down with told me about two women she had been investing in and spending time with. One of them is a new believer and the other does not seem to be one at all. She told me about the relationships she had been building individually with these women and her desire to pour into them and invest in their lives both relationally and spiritually. In this same conversation, I heard the discouragement in her voice when she told me about the grocery store. Again, I am not quite sure where this specific example kept coming from.
I had caught on to this from both her demeanor and her PLACE profile, but she explained to me how she’s not at all extroverted. She is typically more reserved but enjoys being with people in one-on-one settings or in an environment where she is doing something or serving people. She said, “I could never just go up to someone and tell them about Jesus, though. I get discouraged with myself because I am not out there sharing the gospel.” Both of these women, along with others in their own way, didn’t even see the ministry they were already doing in their day to day lives.
They missed the investments they were making in people’s lives and the eternal seeds they were sowing in people’s hearts because what they were doing seemed to lack obvious, evident, or immediate return on their investment.
It was almost as though the value of being able to share the gospel to a stranger or teach from a platform was held in higher regard than the willingness and desire to build individual relationships with people, regardless of their standing with Jesus.
As my dad always reminds me, one of the most frequent things you should look to do in a coaching session is to validate and affirm the individual you are coaching. When I heard the discouragement in the last woman’s voice
I could not help but see what she was doing for the kingdom all the while her focus was consumed by what she wasn’t doing.
When I looked at her PLACE profile, the evidence was coming off the page. She was an “S” personality with the Spiritual Gifts of Helps, Hospitality, Knowledge, and Mercy. When she described herself and her gifts, it was spot on. She said that she doesn’t like being in charge but doesn’t mind serving in a supporting role to meet someone’s needs.
I told her that “S” personalities are often like firefighters. They are the ones who go and put out fires, in ministry or in people’s lives, when they are needed. I also told her that those people with the Gift of Helps often don’t like to be in charge but rather desire to support a person in their ministry or in their life. Around this point I started to see the wheels turning in her mind.
I took note of the fact that while she described herself as an introvert and scored relatively low in the Social Ability, she had identified Socializing, Influencing, and Serving as the three ways she demonstrated Passion. I asked her about this. She said she viewed Influencing as an investment, in people or ministry, and Socializing as building relationships. The way she described these reflected her “S” personality which, while typically more reserved, is very people oriented.
This woman was a very reserved, very gentle “S” personality. Her personality, her gifts, and the ways she demonstrated passions were all very people oriented. But because she wasn’t an extrovert, or a teacher, or sharing the gospel with random people in the grocery store, she was discouraged.
So I sought to encourage and affirm her in what she was doing for the Lord. The investment she was making in the lives of those two women took consistent time and a willing spirit. Many people do not have the time, willingness, or even ability to build intentional, individual relationships with people in that way. Similarly, the first woman I spoke about took the time to build relationships with her neighbors. The time she spent with them walking around the neighborhood every Tuesday built a foundation and sense of trust in each other. That time spent and trust established built a bridge that eventually got her neighbor to church.
I wanted these women to see the fruit of their labors and the value of the seeds they were planting in people’s lives.
While they were discouraged by what they were not doing, I was encouraged by what they were. I believe many of us do that to ourselves quite often. We discredit what we are doing for the Lord, His people, or His kingdom. This may be because it is not on a big platform. It may be because what we are doing seems too mundane or simple. It may be because the seeds we are planting take a long time to sprout and bear fruit. However, the ones that we water and cultivate and care for are often the ones that will develop roots that are ultimately stronger and deeper because of the time we put in without any recognition or immediate reward.
Paul speaks to this in his letter to the Galations. Seeking to encourage them, he urges them,
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers.”
Might I add this? Let us also not become discouraged in the good we are doing because we don’t recognize or have not yet reaped the harvest of the seeds we have planted.
As you coach people in your church or even look at your own life, do not let what you are not doing or the ways you are not gifted discredit what you are doing and the ways you are gifted. Identify the ways you are serving the Lord and His people and using the gifts that He has entrusted you with, and be encouraged in the unique ways God has equipped you to plant seeds in the lives of His people.
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