I see a tree, a mighty tree
And another, and many more
And the fruits, too many to count
This tree is standing in the way
This forest my grief, my nightmare
These fruits are no good at all
No! I had no hand in this hunk
‘twas only a little seed I dropped
I don’t know who is behind this tree
Who to blame for this forest, these fruits
‘twas only a little seed I dropped
Just a little while ago: only a seed
Not a tree, not this forest, not these fruits.

There is an order to life such as day and night, such as sowing and reaping. Whatever we sow we are bound to reap. It may tarry but harvest is sure. And out of the abundance of who we are, we voluntarily and unconsciously scatter our seeds, both good and mean. The good works of some follow them wherever they go, lingering long after they are gone. There are people who are just not mean, they do demeaning things to others without batting an eye. It is normal for them because it appears they don’t seem to realize the impact of their words and actions; no questions or concerns about conscience. And they do this not to people who are mean to them, it is just their nature. They just say it or do it and move on, leaving their trodden victims feeling little and useless. I consider them toxic and I maintain safe distance from such.

I had an encounter with one lately and this time around, rather than take it and walk away as usual, I dropped a word that left a cloud of silence nobody wanted to break. It wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t sarcastic or loud. It wasn’t vengeful or hateful. It was plain, simple, calm old truth captured in just one word. He asked of those around to either refute or confirm that word but not one person uttered another word. They were all shocked that of all persons, it was Glory that would say this. I guess we all know the truth but nobody wants to say or dare it, for good or for whatever reasons. We don’t want trouble. We don’t want to be tagged the ones that rocked the boat. We don’t want to ruffle feathers. Neither of those was my goal. The word came timely and I just dropped it without animosity.

He walked away, quiet for the rest of the day. Others baffled, could only shake their head in quiet amazement that muttered, “Glory!” One said, “You know you look like you don’t talk.” Not long, I felt the Lord stirring my heart to reach out to this same person. My intent wasn’t to hurt. The person was hurting. What would I want of this person? Just for him to be considerate of others. So I went to him and we had a little chat. And guess what? There was a significant change thereafter.

I’m not saying I was right or wrong. I’m just sharing what I learned: our harvest is dependent on what we sow, not on what prompted the sowing. We can’t claim, “I said this because he did that.” “I got drunk because she upset me.” “I broke the law because he broke my heart.” No, it’s not and never will be anybody’s fault or it will always be their fault and never yours . And nobody learns blaming others. I figured that much as I spoke the truth, and since it was done in love, there was no need to leave the person hurting, thereby making room for the devil to exploit the hurt to nobody’s good. We can’t ask consideration of others when we are not willing to give it. We can’t serve people a taste of their stew and expect them to come out different.

Looking back, I am grateful that I listened to my heart and took that step. If we want change, we must follow through with the process. If there is a willingness to dare to start, there has to be a readiness to finish right. If we want to see good, we must seek the right way sincerely. You can’t hate people into loving. You don’t leave people hurting because they hurt others when you want them to stop. We must take responsibility for our actions irrespective of what prompted them and let purpose not just emotions guide our steps because when you hit someone for hitting others, you have sown a seed that you are bound to reap.

We will reap whatever we sow irrespective of what propelled us to sow such a seed. I didn’t mean to sow hurt and God helped me to set it right and also to learn. It was a significant take away that day for me that I think is worth sharing: what it truly meant to correct in love; that the goal is not just to point out error but to show care – not only for those that were being hurt by the person but more so toward the person that hurts others; that we treat others how we would want to be treated; that we sow unto others, seeds whose fruits we would not be afraid to harvest in our own lives.

Glory!