This will be shorter today (and perhaps less stimulating!) Just got a call from the hospital from our son Jon informing me of their third child, second son, being born.  So, I need to celebrate, and get a few other things done!  Hope to see them a bit later.

I tilled our garden last night, getting ready to plant.  The words of Jesus above are quite obviously true when it comes to planting seeds.  If you hold onto the seed, you will not get anything back and will eventually lose the seed.  It is a principle of life that we gain more by giving away, or "sowing" what we have. 

How does apply to non-tangibles?  Here's some possibilities:

I wish people would treat me with more respect. I need to respect people more, including myself.

I wish people would be more open and honest with me. I need to be more open and honest with them.

I wish people would notice the good things I do for them.  I need to notice and be grateful for what others do for me.

I wish people would need me more, or ask more of me.  I need to need others more and ask more of them.

I wish others enjoyed me more.  I need to enjoy them more.

Of course this is not natural - that's why we need to be reminded!  We can easily get into wanting something from others that we are not giving.  And of course when we focus on giving, the giving is often satisfying enough that we forget about the getting.  In fact the getting back may almost diminish the joy of giving!

I think it is true that this is generally the way life works - we get more of what we sow.  Of course there are takers around who if you give more to them they just expect more.  They don't seem to get the reciprocal thing.  And of course it takes discernment as to whether continued giving is in fact the loving thing to do, since it can reinforce an attitude of entitlement, which really seems to make some people into jerks! 

We all know that givers are happier and more contented than takers and don't really lack for anything. We really do have everything we need, and we have enough to share!

"God, you don't seem to get a whole lot back for what you have given, but you have given generously anyway.  Maybe that's just you.  Help me to honor the You in me, the me in You, that wants to plant seeds and wait, perhaps forever, for fruit.  Amen"


Sheldon Swartz, M.A, LMFT works with individuals, couples, and families to identify the ways of life and death in their lives and help uncover the motivation to choose that which leads to life, whether it be through counseling or spiritual direction.