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The summer of 2009 was undoubtedly, most assuredly the hardest season I have lived through in my 51 years. Not just 1 issue, but like rabbits, they kept multiplying. :) I felt as if I was walking through a dark tunnel with no hope of light at the end. I can honestly say that I “despaired of my life”. At the darkest part of this time, God in His providence, placed me in Guatemala on a mother/daughter mission trip. Also on this trip was my sweet friend Tracey and her precious mother Joyce. I only knew Joyce through Tracey, in a superficial kind of way, but during this week Joyce became Jesus to me. Joyce seemed to know when I was most sad, even though I never said a word. Her smile was Jesus’ smile, her eyes saw me out of His eyes of compassion, and best of all, her arms enfolded me in big bear hugs that I knew came straight from my Heavenly Father. She was Jesus “with skin on”.

In January of 2010 Joyce took her last breath on this planet and took her first breath in her new home, heaven. Her 20 year battle with cancer was finally over and she is home. Praise God!! As the anniversary of her homegoing was approaching, I wanted to show Tracey, her daughter, in a tangible way, how much her mother’s witness and life meant, not only to me, but SO many others. I got on my knees and cried to the Lord for wisdom. He and I both know that I have not one bit of creativity in this body, so any idea I would KNOW for certain came from HIm. :) A verse kept coming to my mind, over and over again. I became excited as I thought about how I could illustrate this.
The verse is John 12:24 “I tell you that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But IF IT DIES, it produces many seeds.”

I drove to our local feed store (my Arkansas roots felt right at home) and asked for some grain. The clerk said they had none, but that corn would show the same principle. I bought a handful of corn kernels, and a 6 foot stalk of corn, and headed to Tracey’s house. When I got there, I gave her the seeds, and told her that this represented her mom’s life and death. Then, I brought out the huge stalk of corn, which is me, and so many others that are flourishing because of her life and death.

I would ask you precious reader, “What has died this year?” A dream, a relationship, a friend, a family member? I would encourage you to bury whatever it is in the good soil of Jesus’ love, forgiveness, compassion so that it can bring forth MANY seeds.