Seed Packets

"She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head." (Mark 14:3 NLT)

“She has just done something wonderfully significant for me.” (Mark 14:6 MSG)

The colorful pictures on seed packets never depict the actual seeds. Instead, they advertise plants that have reached their full potential. Every flower and vegetable is shown in their mature form, in peak condition, free of blemishes.

My real life garden never looks as perfect as what these images depict. Thus, I am reluctant to tear open these pretty packages. However, I must break it open--or it remains attractive but useless. The seeds appear dull and insignificant--yet I plant them in dirt. I attend to them daily--watering, pruning, weeding, mulching, fertilizing, inspecting them for pests, staking them with support when needed. After all this work, some of the fruit will be wormy and misshapen. Yet, it is real--and authenticity, however imperfect, will always be more more significant than pretty packaging.

Lord, enable me to break open everything that I hold precious and offer it to you.