How many times have I read or heard the Bible story about the soil and the seed? But this time, as the pastor discussed the parable, a new realization overwhelmed my mind. What is needed for good soil? Water, of course. What else? Fertilizer. Fertilizer! And what is potent fertilizer made of? If I were being polite, I’d say manure. If I were being real, I’d say crap. Crap is necessary for rich soil! Crap helps roots to grow deep.

All the crap in my life that I beg You to take away is, in fact, enriching my soil thus enabling roots to go more deeply into You. Those circumstances which I hate and regard as completely undesirable, painful,difficult, impossible…are fertilizing the soil of my heart. Good ground allows and welcomes Your Word to embed deeply with stable, hearty roots.

Matthew 13:23 “But he/she who received seed on the good ground is he/she who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

The fruit that is produced, by the generosity and power of Your Spirit, enables us to produce a hundredfold, sixty or thirty. I want my life to produce a hundredfold! So Lord, if I need more fertilizer to prepare the soil of my heart to receive You more deeply, please do it! Fertilize away! Let me appreciate the crap for what it truly is–a means of preparing my soil for deeper and more productive growth in You.