And Again

Good Morning Gentle Readers

Well I am doing it again....

It's a not my reflection...

But

This is very much my story too


Take Care and God Bless



Good Enough



Luke 8:4-15

When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, Jesus said in a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”

Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that ‘looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand.’

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.”

Upon reading this Gospel, I was flooded with a number of thoughts and questions:

I want to be the good soil!

I hope I’m the good soil...

Am I the good soil?

Or am I more of a rock, or a trampled path, or a nest of thorns?

How am I receiving the seeds that God lays down in my life?

Can I be the good soil?

When I took some time to consider these questions, I knew the answers weren’t all good. Have I let the word of God lay fallow on the busy path of my life? Certainly. The many responsibilities of daily life can make it seem like there is just too much going on for me to spend time with God. Even when I am spending time with God at Mass, am I really, truly listening? With little ones in tow, my wife and I find it challenging to always pay full attention to God’s word at Mass.

Have I been distracted from my relationship with God by the “cares and riches and pleasures of life”? Absolutely. With a smartphone in my pocket nearly all the time, a DVR full of shows, and a host of other distractions, it’s very easy to tune out the word God is speaking to me.

In my roles as a husband and a father, I must model the expectation that Jesus sets for his followers in this Gospel. I must trim the thorns in my life. I must move the rocks from my path. I must endeavor to make myself good soil and set an example for my wife and children.

Good soil is well watered and tended on a regular basis. It bothers me when I don’t mow my lawn every week. It should bother me just the same when my spiritual field is too full of thorns and rocks.

I want to be the good soil. And I know I have some work to do to tend to my field. God will continue to place seeds in our lives. It is ours to ensure that we are prepared to receive those seeds.