Guest Blog Writer: Zona Garrett
Some might say I am rough around the
edges and I very well may be. I am also someone who has quite the
sensitive soul. I love to help, whether that be cooking, serving,
giving, sharing time or stories. Because of my giving nature, one of
the hardest lessons I’ve learned as a Christian is about keeping
the seed the Lord gives you for your seed, and understanding what He
has for the visible need in front of you. I call this the art of the
Holy NO!
There are systems built to rob you,
Dear One, of the very seed He has planned for you! We can even rob
ourselves and our loved ones of potential blessings, by not
understanding what to do with the seed we have been given. There
were times when I would throw my personal seed at someone's specific
need, only to find that the Lord intended to fulfill that need in a
different manner. The reality is that these amazing, wonderful people
whom I was giving my seed to, where hindered from the ability to rely
on the Lord for themselves, and had to go around the proverbial
mountain one-to-many times, partly on my account. My heart was
wrenched at the idea that I might be prolonging those I am trying to
help, in the very area I was trying to rescue them from! I was
setting myself in the position of provider in their lives, and there
is only one is worthy of that title - Jehovah Jireh! I had to come
face to face with my own understanding of the goodness of God and His
faithfulness to provide just as abundantly for them, in His timing.
In wrestling with learning how to
steward my seed, the Lord whispered this question in my ear, “What
if the seed you’re giving is removing the lesson I am teaching
them?” That's when I had the gut wrenching realization; I was
giving my seed away out of a fear that the Lord wouldn’t provide
for them in their situation. My faith was built on the foundation of
promises He wrote on my heart and what He has intimately called me
to, but they have their own sweet and irrevocable promises. I was
robbing the Lord of an opportunity to work powerfully in their
situation, dealing directly with their hearts. But the Lord gives
favor and grace to all His beloved, and that is His personal
expression to each of us, dear heart! The Lord has been gracious to
me as I’ve learned this lesson, failing again and again. He still
allows me to invest in people; He still pours an abundance of love
and willingness to help people into this heart of mine.
What I didn’t know is that my
understanding was too finite, too small. My mindset about my Heavenly
Father was wrong, and therefore my expectations of Him were wrong. He
was so faithful with my heart and mind to expand my understanding and
open the box further and further. Through His gentle whispers, He
showed me how magnificent His plans were for those I wanted to help.
And slowly, as I opened my heart to trust in the Lord, He would show me that He loved them
more deeply than I ever could. I was able to witness His beautiful plans
for their lives unfolding in expectant hope before each one. I
witnessed the pain of the Lord, as sometimes they chose to go around
the mountain again, and I understood more fully His desire for me to
eat the seed He prepared for my bread. There were times I chose to go
around the mountain again. There were times I couldn’t agree; yet He was
gracious and compassionate to me. Time and again, He gave me new
seed to sow into new territory and new people, and I was able to
release those dearly loved ones in my life into their fullness in
Him. This was when the very gentle and pressing Word of the Lord spoke
to my ever-softening heart these verses:
1
Corinthians 9:6-11 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will
also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap
generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your
heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a
cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in
all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in
every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered
their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also
supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest
of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that
you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity
will result in thanksgiving to God.
The highlight for me was on verse 10,
because I was faithful to freely give, and the Lord saw my heart! I
truly believe He keeps record of anytime we exercise faith in all its
naïve glory. Often times I ended the day with nothing left, and I
was robing my harvest of righteousness to be able to impact families,
communities and whole countries. I would ask the Lord how so much
could flow though me and I still be so exhausted. I longed to be a
world changer! And my generous little heart needed the difficult
teaching of saying no when the seed wasn’t mine to give. I began
trusting in He who is Faithful at new levels to supply all of their
needs in His Glorious riches, and truly trusting that I heard from
the Lord where to give and where to sow, and where to take my bread.
He would provide the increase and fulfill the promises whispered to
my heart. I have not hidden a hope in my heart that He wasn’t
faithful to plant in me.
He further blessed me by delving into
the riches of Ephesians Chapter 1:8-14, (8-9):
He has
showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a
plan to fulfill his own good pleasure.
The beauty of the plan to sow and set
aside for bread is the gem of knowledge that He has promised us the
wisdom and understanding to be faithful with each seed, to the extent
that He promised to reveal His mysterious plan. Dear Heart, He has
the plan and He is gifting you with seed to eat and seed to sow for
the richness of His Glory. You mean that much to Him. Your seed was
not an afterthought; it wasn’t mean for someone else, but you. I
cannot express to you the questions I asked of my King as I
understood more fully His mysteries I can find only in Him.
(Verses 10-14)
And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything
together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on
earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have
received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he
makes everything work out according to his plan.
God’s
purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would
bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard
the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in
Christ, he identified you as his own[d] by giving you the Holy
Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee
that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has
purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and
glorify him.
God is faithful to teach this heart
to hope and long for the promises He’s guaranteed to me, and you! I
am growing in wisdom and understanding in the mysteries of Him as to
know where to plant, and where to set my seed aside as bread for
today. And I pray the same wisdom and understanding over you.
There isn’t a single person in my
life that I have spent more time studying and watching than you.
Some of my earliest memories include: mowing the grass while tornado
sirens were going off, teaching me to throw and bat right-handed
because you couldn’t understand how I could be left-handed,
catching a fish with no bait-just a hook, teaching me how to build a
fence on the farm and the hard work it entailed, teaching me how to
garden and can food, working two jobs so that we had enough to eat,
spending hours filming all of our sporting and life events without
complaining, talking and teaching me how to get through a break up
when it felt like my world had exploded, watching you fight for a
marriage and our family ... the list could go on of the lessons,
morals and values you modeled for me. 
Among all these great stories and
memories, the one that is most familiar to me is when I got out of
the Navy and moved home while trying to mend my life. It was a
single event that will forever be in my memory. I was painting the
garage with you and I finally broke down and had to fight through the
tears to form words. My question to you was “are you ashamed of
me?” I was at a low point in my life. I couldn’t find
employment, even though I had all the credentials, awards and merit.
I was in a state of rejection, but it was your words that broke my
mindset and really planted a seed within my heart that I will never
forget. You said, “How can you say that? Mom and I couldn’t be
more proud of the man you are and what you will be. I don’t know
what you are going through or what you are thinking, but just know
that I love you and I am here for you, even if it’s just to
listen.” They were really just simple words, but they had a profound
effect on who I am today. It also sums you up, as a simple man.
Your model of fatherhood has set the
bar for all who know you. You have been part of my biggest life
moments including: not missing a single sporting, school, or life
event, sailing with me on the USS Ronald Reagan for a week in the
Pacific as we returned from deployment, and witnessing my public
baptism at Palo Lake. I don’t need to read a book on being a
father when I have you to go to for advice. It is the core values
you have instilled into me of integrity, character, professionalism,
and excellence that have become the foundations of not only 
