Beginnings, Day Three: Seeds
Your soul has taken a lot of hits.You didn't get the promotion. You lost the house. She said no when you were sure she'd say yes. Your proposal got shot down. Your business didn't pan out, even though you did everything. The tests keep coming back positive.And after all of those hits, doubt washes in, an unwanted high tide that takes your confidence back out to sea.You have a great gift, imbedded within you by the God who knows your name. That gift needs to come out. I wrote Beginnings because I actually believe this broken world will only be made whole when people begin to name those great gifts, and bring them out where they can be seen and felt and experienced.Here is an excerpt from Day Three of Beginnings (NavPress):
God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties of seed-bearing plants, Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.” And there it was. Earth produced green seed-bearing plants, all varieties, And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts. God saw that it was good. It was evening, it was morning— Day Three.—Genesis 1:11-13On Day Three, seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing trees of all varieties erupt out of the ground. It’s a visible and generative display of growth. But underneath the visible vegetation are invisible seeds, and it seems like the writer wants us to see and taste something with this word: Not only does vegetation sprout up, but the vegetation contains seeds within it, seeds which will one day fall to the ground and create more life in the future. When that happens, the potential for a new beginning is actualized.Do you see it? The tall oak tree actually was made by the tiny acorn, which another oak tree produced, because everything that is alive contains seeds for future life within it. Trees and plants contain seeds, which will one day become more trees and more plants. The same is true for you: There are seeds of life embedded within you by God, and something needs to call them forth, so they can burst into life, containing within them future life as well.It’s good when you give birth to those seeds. It’s good when they grow up and become something beautiful.Do you know what your seeds are, the ones that contain future life within them?When you pay attention, what do you notice deep inside of you, waiting to take shape and be born? What does it feel like as it struggles to come alive? What is your response to it as you feel it moving around inside of you? Do you nourish it?Do you celebrate it?Do you deny it and suppress it? Do you dare to believe there are seeds of life planted in you by God that need to be born? What would it mean for you to give birth to them, as messy and difficult and dangerous as that may be?If you resist these questions as selfish narcissism, you’ll just keep pushing those seeds back down, medicating in order to feel them less. Most of us have pushed them down so long, we don’t even know what they are. The struggle begins to show up as sore shoulders, headaches, sickness. The seed wants to be born, and it is struggling. What would it mean to let it finally come to life?It can feel like surging rage, bubbling up and embarrassing you in the middle of a meeting at work. It can feel like blinding frustration. It can even be blissful joy, filling you in a moment that overwhelms you with gratitude. Whatever it is, it is beautiful and good. It will most likely be born through a great struggle, as you expand in order to give birth to it. Day Three is when we bring good things to life.
Please, do whatever it takes so that your gift can be named and given to the world. We need it. This book is an expression of my own hope that many of us will say yes to bringing those seeds out.Here's hoping you'll take the courageous journey of bringing your gift into the world. In it together.* * *Next Tuesday, we'll look at what Day Four brings. On Day Four, we experience the different seasons of life.A big congratulations to MARY BIEDERMANN who won last week's copy of Beginnings.I want to give away one copy of Beginnings per week between now and release. I will sign it and mail it, totally free. All you have to do is email me, or send me a picture, of WHY you need a copy of Beginnings NOW. It could be hilarious, poignant, deep, shallow, whatever. It just has to be to me by Monday, December 7th. Email me at Steve (at) stevewiens.com or post it on Facebook (sjwiens), Twitter (@stevewiens), or Instagram (@stevewiens), tagging me so that I can see it, and using the hashtag #BeginningsBook. I will pick one winner per week, based on my own completely random judgment of which one is best. Ready, go! * * *This is the third post of an eight week series leading up to the launch of my first book, Beginnings. I'll also be talking about it on my podcast, so make sure to tune in there, too! 
If you'd like to read the first two chapters of my new book, Beginnings, please click here. I'd love to hear what you think!If you'd like to pre-order Beginnings (releasing on January 1st), click here.
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