A Little Bit of Africa (Well, sort of…)
July 22, 2011It started out as a small thing, as most things usually do. A well-loved bird feeder strategically hung outside my kitchen window which I keep filled with seed when the budget would allow. It had been awhile since I had filled it, as being summer and all, I figured the birds had plenty of other sources of sustenance. While most summers in Australia tend towards the dry side, this one had been particularly plentiful with rain. Rather than the usual crispy brown lawns, most were lush and green and in need of a mow–except those that had given up during the 12-year drought and had replaced sod with rocks or mulch or astroturf. Our yard was one that had been mulched at least a few years back by the owner, so when something green began appearing from the ground looking like it was meant to be there, it wasn’t hard to miss. It didn’t take long to realise that this sprout underneath my birdfeeder looked an aweful lot like corn. Now I have always been a bit of an experimental gardner–let’s throw some plants in the ground and see what happens–so I watched with anticipation to see what this stray seed would produce. Having grown up my formative years in farm country in Indiana, I know what corn looks like–and, well, this sure did look a LOT like corn. The only problem was that it stopped growing at about waist high and put out the strangest looking tassle I had ever seen. Then one evening, we had a young missionary couple over for dinner. They had been back in Australia after spending two years in Niger, W. Africa. As we talked of Africa over a meal, the conversation naturally went to African meals and crops and the like. We deal with a lot of missionaries in that region, so I knew about millet. What I didn’t realise (until my missionary friend connected the dots for me) is that millet is what we typically consider bird food in the West. Could it be? Was I accidentally growing millet in my Australian back yard? I’m not sure what curious people did prior to google, but a quick google search revealed the identity of my mystery plant–it WAS indeed millet. Mystery solved! While I was mildly disappointed that there would be no corn harvested this season (at least not at my house), there was a quiet feeling of connection with my African brothers and sisters. (I’m sure THEY would know just how to utilise this bountiful blessing, which only the birds seem interested in here in Australia–they think they’ve hit the proverbial jackpot, I’m sure.) The whole incident got me to thinking of so many God things. How a small amount of faith (incidentally, millet seeds look a lot like mustard seeds) can produce great things. How sometimes seeds fall on good soil and grow, and sometimes they don’t–and despite man’s intentionality in the effort, God can produce growth in unexpected places. How one seed (Jesus) can fall to the ground and die, producing many more seeds (His church). How those who go bearing precious seed (the Gospel) will come again rejoicing (with new believers)…. I could go on, but I think you get the point. Now everytime I look out my window, I’m prompted to pray for the seeds being sown in Africa by the faithful workers God sends out.
Luke 10:2 “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.”
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