Seeds of Cape Town

Give ear, and hear my voice; give attention, and hear my speech.
Does he who plows for sowing plow continuously? Does he continually open and harrow his ground?
When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and emmer as the border?
For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him."
- Isaiah 28:23-26

I am so grateful for this promise as we walk out of Cape Town and return to our lives here in the United States. For months we tilled up the ground of Cape Town through prayer, we called out to friends and family and they too tilled up the ground on our behalf. We consistently cried out to Jesus to soften their hearts, and prepare them for the Holy Spirit to come in and move in power... and then in His timing, He taught us which seeds to plant and where to plant them. For each person, it looked different; in the natural, some seeds looked successful, and others not so much.  But the truth is each seed fell where it was supposed to... doing exactly what it was intended to do.

For the mom sitting outside the coffee shop with her two toddler sons and a new baby wrapped around her, reading them illustrated books, appearing to be on her last attempt to hold herself together... the seed was buying her a bundle of flowers and telling her how good of a mom she was. With tears in her eyes, she expressed "oh thank you.... it has been a day."

For Terry, the wealthy elderly woman who hated religion and was angry at God, it was fighting for her in that moment and not backing down from her cold and uninterested exterior. Months of prayer tilled up her soil, and fifteen minutes of investment planted seeds of truth about how good You are and how You are present in all things. How Your heart breaks when bad things happen, but You never leaves us nor forsakes us. You are still there, in that place of darkness. Your response to hurt and pain is hope and love and restoration. Because pain and suffering NEVER get the final word. As our girls stood in the gap and poured out Your love over her, years of built up anger, agreement with lies from hell, and generational curses broke off and fell to the ground. Healing and laughter filled that space, as a once angry woman wept as she held on to the necks of my teammates. Thanking them for their prayers.

For Steph, the attractive, successful, intelligent yet deceived, young business man... the soil was already tilled. Steph was talking about the sex industry and how messed up it is, how angry it makes him that these little girls and young women have never been told that they do not have to do what these men are telling them to do. As I was eavesdropping from only a few feet away, I heard You say, "Cut to the chase, sis." So as I approached him in the middle of the night market, he told me he didn't believe in You. But I proceeded and expressed how much You believe in him and how wild you are about the man that he is. You gave me a word for him... He would be your voice FOR women and TO men... He would speak on behalf of women in Cape Town and across the globe, creating change on their behalf and fighting for reconciliation. I told him that You were going to use him as a mouthpiece to the world of business and politics, and his eyes lit up. I told him he would speak into the lives of other men... men who may be pondering the dark world that so deeply angered him. He drank in every word like a glass of cool water. When I finished, he said, "I receive every word. Thank you so much for coming over to tell me that. And even if we don't believe in the same deity, to me it is all the same. So please know that I am so grateful for your words." I looked at him in the eyes and said, "When you do believe in Jesus, remember that he sent a random American girl across the globe to speak to you in this night market." As I walked out the Holy Spirit so sweetly spoke to me, "Good job, sis. I will complete what I started in Steph." You so sweetly reassured me that your seeds always bear the fruit they are intended to bear.

For Tee-tee and Nic, it was a consistent daily kindness. A crossing of paths in coffee shops, and athletic gear stores. It was a gentle friendship and prayer for healing over injuries. It was meeting for lunch, and stopping by in the afternoon to say hello. It was the vision of them someday playing a significant role in community, the right seeds in their time.

For Sheldon, it was a long lunch and a big tip. It was an invitation to church and an interest in his personal dreams and the things that keep him going. It was a question about the meaning of his name and a spoken word of identity. A strong tower. A place of peace. It was a short moment of looking at each other in the eyes and telling him how much You love him and how you delight in watching him surf... the thing he loves to do. It was a dismantling of "religion", the lie that You are up in the clouds, disengaged and angry... NO. You are enthralled at our beauty, especially fond of each of us. Sheldon had no idea... but now those seeds are taking root.

For the young Muslim med school student, it was the way You moved when she shared her story about Ramadan and her lack of belief but the stronghold of tradition in her family. Your love spoke to her. In that moment, she was heard, understood, and loved regardless. She heard the name of Jesus. Your mighty name that holds immense power. Your name that breaks every chain and defeats deception. That seed will do exactly what you intend it to do.

As we tilled up the ground with our prayers, You taught us which seeds to plant and when to plant them. Many were scattered broadly, but each with intention and purpose. Because Your heart moves on behalf of each one of us individually. You did not mass produce us. There was never an assembly line of face shapes and personalities. You designed us uniquely, forming us in utter seclusion. Knowing each day of our lives... where we would be on Wednesdays, and when we would have babies, and what we would spend the better part of our lives doing... You know all of those things. And you care. So much that you send us overseas to meet others in those moments. You send us overseas, and you send us to the grocery store down the street. You send us to work as engineers, and teachers, and lawyers, and nannies. You create us with an inclination to like certain things and you don't mess up. Ever. You fight for us, and you teach us to plant the right seeds.

Because You delight in who we are, and You are especially fond of each of us.