The Seed that I Might Have Planted

 What God May Be Teaching Me The Seeds We Plant — 1 Corinthians 3:6

“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” — 1 Corinthians 3:6 (KJV)

Tonight, this verse means something entirely different to me.

At 25, I was encouraging him during a season when his future seemed uncertain. I asked questions about his dreams, listened to his struggles, and reminded him that he still had something valuable to offer.

Maybe, without realizing it, I was planting a little seed of encouragement.

But I wasn’t responsible for making that seed grow.

Other people, experiences, opportunities, and decisions would become part of his journey. I don’t know what influence my words had, if any.

I planted what I could. Others may have watered. But God was responsible for the growth.

Twelve years later, I saw him walking through a school hallway, talking with a third-grade boy. Hearing his familiar voice brought back memories of the children’s shelter.

I couldn’t help thinking about the young man whose future I had once wondered about.

Now he was working with children again, in a different role.

I don’t know whether anything I said years ago contributed to his journey. But I can be thankful that I encouraged him when I had the opportunity.

And then I realized something else.

Perhaps God has been growing something in me, too.

At 25, I wanted him to see the possibilities in his future.

At nearly 40, remembering his journey is helping me see possibilities in my own.

I thought this story was about a seed I might have planted in someone else’s life. But perhaps God has also been nurturing seeds of hope, courage, and purpose in mine.

That’s what makes 1 Corinthians 3:6 so meaningful to me now.

We aren’t always meant to see how everything grows.

Sometimes our part is simply to plant with love, trust God with the outcome, and keep growing ourselves.