You Just Never Know
February 15, 2010 by Brandon Munoz
Filed under The Monday Message
Be sure to stay busy and plant a variety of crops, for you never know which will grow–perhaps they all will…Ecclesiastes 11:6
You Just Never Know:
How much effort does it really take to alter history?
When living in a land of a thousand tasks and responsibilities, it can seem like a quaint luxury to try and make a difference in the world. Even hearing those cliché covered words can deport our minds back home to Smallville*; that quiet place where bright ideas and good intentions go to die. Smallville is an idyllic village where dreams and hopes can live contently hidden in our heads for years. These lonely aspirations look out of the living room windows (our eyes) everyday and scan the vast horizon of possibilities. They can see open doors and opportunities all the time, but they are constantly discouraged from going outside by the Reasonable Police, who keep them on house arrest. Then the nowhere-neighbours drop in for a visit with a fresh batch of homemade excuses, reminding us that all is fine just as it is.
But once in a awhile, a great escape occurs! A rogue inspiration will kick through the back door – run past the gates of Coulda – march through the valley of Shoulda – and scale the mountains of Woulda; turning a mediocre moment into a monumental event within the blink of an eye. The most amazing thing is that this jailbreak isn’t that hard to plan. All it takes is a drop of faith and scrap of compassion to sow the seed that changes everything.
We aren’t talking about amazing feats of heroism here. It’s simply about spotting the moments you were made for; those mysterious yet very common occurrences that can never be scheduled, but are so regular that we can set our watches to their rhythm.
Don’t believe me? Just tell the neighbours to go home and chuck their complacent casserole in the bin while you gaze outside the window for a minute…
Most of the Bible’s miracles occurred on average days in normal places. And many of the paradigm shifting ideas and events of the last century can be sourced to a few undistinguished people with a little inspiration and alot of guts. The funny thing is…is that we don’t even need a ‘world changing’ ambition in order to do just that. All we have to do is choose to use our words and actions for a fruitful cause as carefully and often as we can. This usually happens in some of the smallest and insignificant places of the day.
I remember when my dad let a curious 7 year old play (let alone touch) his vintage Gibson guitar. And when a certain youth pastor let a freaky new convert paint a strange mural on a blank wall in the church. Both had no idea what kind of forest they were planting in the heart of a growing soul. All it took was a second of their time and and an ounce of their patience to say, “OK”. I have no idea what they were really thinking then, but the point is, their Reasonable Police were at the doughnut shop that day.
Over the years I’ve tried my best to extend this kind of favour to others – little by little: teach a guitar chord, build a shelf, share a Scripture, buy some lunch, etc. By the way, I ain’t no super-saint. I get trapped inside Smallville as much as anyone else, but I’ve learned that sowing seed is much more fun than moaning.
King Solomon advised that we should sow our seed and spread our bread in various places, because we never know what could happen. Sowing seeds of encouragement and truth in others will always be a better investment of time than using those same precious seconds to build our case. This case I speak of is a an ever expanding file cabinet of blame and justifications concerning the actions of others, along with the many circumstances that keep your life stuck in Smallville. So many people consistently share the contents of these whiny files with their online friends so everybody can join the un-fun.
Are you a seed sower or a weed grower? Every second holds the soil into which we can either plop a gripe or plant a seed. What kind of seeds we sow and how often we do it is up to us. Where it goes and what it becomes is up to the Farmer.
And it doesn’t even matter if we taste the fruit or not, this will always be life’s sweetest endeavour.
Lost in the Fields,
Brandon and Pamela Muñoz
FREEDOMHOUSE.ORG.UK
MONDAYMESSAGE.TUMBLR.COM