And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth;
and immediately it sprang up, because it had not depth of earth:
But when the sun was up, it was scorched;
and because it had no root, it withered away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As a little girl, I played like a little mountain goat on two-story rocks in the woods near my home. I was always a little amazed to see full grown trees growing atop these giant rocks. In fact, I often used loops in the roots that grew down the face of the rocks to pull myself upwards and for footholds as a scaled them. The big strong roots somehow made their way down the sides of the giant boulders and into the ground below.
This weekend as I walked along a Lake Erie marina, I spied these pretty purple flowers and was again amazed to see plants growing in the middle of a rock pile. But the same rock piled sported the dead sticks of a previous plant that had sprung up not too long ago and I remembered the parable of the sower. It saddened me to remember that these beautiful flowers didn't have much of a chance for survival. They have no massive root system and only water beneath the rocks if the roots did make their way below.
I wonder, if when Jesus was teaching the multitude by the seaside He spied a pretty purple flower like this one. Maybe he pointed to it when He likened the seed in the parable to the word of God being sown in our hearts. Thinking about his words makes me wonder how many times I've heard a sermon that stirred my faith, only to find myself doubting and worrying several days later...
Too many times! Keeping my heart tender isn't always an easy task. For me, it's hurt and distrust that hardens it. Sure it's makes a grand protection against more hurt, but it also keeps God's word from getting well rooted in my spirit.
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