My five-year-old son loves going to the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon. He is fascinated by the displays of “olden times.” One of the displays he particularly enjoys is a representation of life on the prairies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries-a sod house without electricity or running water, to say nothing of not having TV, DVDs or computers!
It amazes me to think about the hard, back-breaking and sometimes heartbreaking work done by those pioneers: chopping down trees, cutting and hauling wood away; pulling stumps and rocks; breaking the land so that seed could be planted, with the hope of a harvest in their hearts.
We need pioneering in our faith as well. In and through confession, we engage in the hard work of asking the Lord to help us chop down deep-rooted attitudes or activities which prevent our growing closer to God or one another. We call on Christ to pick those stones of sin that harden our heart and inhibit the harvest of peace, joy or love that the Lord seeks to grow in and through us.
May our lives be made fertile fields where the Spirit brings forth whatever growth we need.
Lord, you are the sower of faith and forgiveness, may your seed of grace be planted in our lives to bring forth a harvest of abundant life. Amen. — MH