In the book titled A Treasury of Great Christian Stories* is the story "We Understand So Little", a folktale retold by Stephen Fortosis. These notes precede the story:

"This is an anonymous Jewish folktale that repeats for us the lesson that, behind even the mundane scenes in life, God is always accomplishing far more than we know."

* * * * *

"Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone:
but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
He that loveth his life shall lose it;
and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal."

John 12:24, 25

Once there were two brothers who had spent all their lives in the city, and had never even seen a field or pasture. So one day they decided to take a trip into the countryside. As they were walking along, they spied a farmer plowing and were puzzled about what he was doing. "What kind of behavior is this?" they asked themselves. "This fellow marches back and forth all day, scarring the earth with long ditches. Why should anyone destroy such a pretty meadow like that?" Later in the afternoon they passed the same place again, and this time they saw the farmer sowing grains of wheat in the furrows. "Now what's he doing?" they asked themselves. "He must be a madman. He's taking perfectly good wheat and tossing it into these ditches!" "The country is no place for me," said one of the brothers. "The people here act as if they had no sense. I'm going home." And he went back to the city. But the second brother stayed in the country, and a few weeks later saw a wonderful change. Fresh green shoots began to cover the field with a lushness he had never imagined. He quickly wrote to his brother and told him to hurry back to see the miraculous growth. The brother returned from the city, also amazed at the change. As the days passed the brothers watched the green earth turn into a golden field of tall wheat. And now they understood the reason for the farmer's work. When the wheat grew ripe, the farmer came with his scythe and began to cut it down. The brother who had returned from the city couldn't believe it. "What is this imbecile doing now? he exclaimed. "All summer long he worked so hard to grow this beautiful wheat, and now he's destroying it with his own hands. He is a madman after all! I've had enough. I'm going back to the city." The other brother had more patience. He stayed in the country and watched the farmer collect the wheat and take it to his granary. He saw how cleverly the farmer separated the chaff, and how carefully he stored the rest. And he was filled with awe when he realized that from a bag of seed sown, a whole field of grain could be harvested. Only then did he truly understand that the farmer had a reason for everything he did. "And this is how it is with God's works, too," he told his brother. "We see only the beginnings of God's plan. Can we ever understand the full purpose and end of His creation without faith in His wisdom?"

One of the things that stood out for me in this story is the seemingly unconnected events between "scarring the earth", "throwing away good grain", the tender green shoots coming up, the change of color indicating "ripeness" (or readiness), the necessary harvesting in order to use the grain, the grinding necessary for making bread, the oven heat necessary for the cooking of the bread so that it could be digested, etc. These things all look obvious to us concerning wheat, but we have to be particularly alert to recognize the connections between events in our lives that feel like "scarring" for no good purpose, seemingly "thrown away" things that are actually a "sowing" for things to come, the good things that can come out of bad things (indicating redemption and great grace ultimately), "grinding" circumstances in our lives, etc. Perhaps this little story can help us to be attentive to these things that come to us through the wisdom of God . . . a "good" that can come out of suffering and events in our lives that we may question but, when laid at the foot of the Cross, are ultimately for our good and God's glory. Trust in God, and patience, is key here. John 12:24, 25 is also key to our life of discipleship. If we see clearly the Truth of these verses, we will not be so fearful and cowardly while living here on Earth, but will identify more fully with the "better country" to which we are traveling. We will keep our eyes focussed and our hearts "fixed" (Ps. 57:7, Ps. 108:1) futureward, and we will serve that country's (our country's) King with wholly dedicated hearts, minds, and bodies. May it be so. May we keep our eyes on the horizon and beyond. (Ps. 107:43)

On another note, the phrase in the story "a golden field of tall wheat" brought back wonderful memories of a golden field of tall wheat that we passed on our way to, and not far from, a small country church in southwestern Indiana that Travis served many years ago. The name of the church was Bethany Primitive Baptist Church, but everybody knew it as "Old Beech" because of the beautiful tall beech trees that were on the church grounds. It was located in (wonderfully named) Solitude, Indiana. It was a very old church, with two separate doors--one for the women and one for the men. The women sat on one side and the men on the other. The acoustics in the building were wonderful, and the enthusiastic singing echoed all over the room as worshippers (most elderly but still fiercely believing the timeless Truths) sang out the grand old hymns of faith. The church was declining even when we were going there, and has since ceased having services, but it is "kept up" by the folks who bought it (the cemetery association that tends the connecting graveyard where many generations of Primitive Baptists, as well as others, are buried). Travis and I drove by there recently on an afternoon drive, and thought back on those days and the people that surrounded us then, most of whom have finished their sojourn on planet Earth. What must they be seeing and singing and enjoying now!--too great to even compare with what we enjoyed when they were with us, but sweet memories to us still here.

Thankful for a trustworthy God,
Elaine

*A Treasury of Great Christian Stores, Edited by Stephen Fortosis. 2001, Baker Books, A Division of Baker Book House Co, Grand Rapids, Michigan.