God Does Great Things With Your Tiny Seeds

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It was a science experiment for 5-year-olds: All the children in a kindergarten class dropped flower seeds into sidewalk cracks around their school to see what would happen. For weeks, they saw nothing. Then, to their delight, flowers sprouted and bloomed in those unlikely habitats! The children didn’t need to understand all the science behind how flowers grow before starting their experiment. They only needed the desire to scatter the seeds. God did the rest. 

Just as God took the children’s efforts and made flowers grow in improbable places, so does He take our good works, both significant and humble, and use them for His purposes. 

With His infinite power, God could heal all diseases, wipe out hunger, provide shelter for the homeless, and make the lonely and lowly feel loved without any input from us. Instead of doing all this on His own, though, He lets us have some ownership in it: He accepts what we humbly and lovingly offer for others. Then He multiplies the benefits and uses it to build His Kingdom. 

We may doubt that we have the necessary skills to make a difference. We may not understand why the need is so great. We may question why God allows so many people to suffer. Yet in the midst of all those unanswerable questions, if we’re willing to work with Him, He’ll take our efforts and use them in ways we could never do on our own.

Listen to what our Lord may be saying to you today:

“What I ask you to do, you may not understand. Trust Me.

You may think you’re incapable of doing big things. Trust Me.

You may think your contributions are insignificant. Trust Me.

I will meet you in the eyes of the poor, the outcast, the forgotten. Offer your hand to them and you’ll grasp Mine. Trust Me.

I will take what you do and turn it into something eternally valuable – even if you don’t see it. Ask Me.

I will strengthen you to go out of your comfort zone. Ask Me.

I will give you courage when you need it. Ask Me.

Like a gardener who plants flower seeds and trusts Me to make them bloom, trust Me to take your seeds of faith and loving works, no matter how small, and use them for My Kingdom.”

Pay attention when God tugs at your heart to reach out to someone in need. You don’t have to have all the answers, just a desire to let Him use what you offer.

“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God: it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.” – Mark 4:26-27

Open my eyes, that I may see You. Open my ears, that I may hear You. Open my heart, that I may love You in the people around me.

Thank you for reading my reflection!  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words.    © 2025 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, the reader, to reflect on a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional spiritual reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Comments are always welcome! Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list. 

You can also find my posts on my Facebook page!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home, in Ukraine, Russia, the Middle East, and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

Get Rid of the Clutter

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January is a popular month for going through the house to declutter. We make use of these brutally cold days to go through our closets and get rid of clothes and other items we no longer use. Doing so creates, among other things, a wide open visual space that somehow gives us a freeing feeling.

We can do the same thing for our spiritual life by getting rid of the clutter in our mind and giving God space to speak to us. 

One way He speaks to us is through the Scriptures. Some people think that the Bible is just an old book, offering nothing relevant to our lives today. But that isn’t the case.

The Bible is the living Word of God. It was written by women and men who were inspired by God to write what they wrote. Yes, some of it includes ancient, unfamiliar customs. But the messages still pertain to us, wherever we are and whatever stage of life we’re in. If that weren’t the case, then we’d just have to read the Bible once and we’d know everything there is to know about God. However, God continues to speak to us through the Scriptures as we age, as our faith grows (or weakens), and as our life challenges change. He uses Scripture to demonstrate the immensity of His love for us. This is true even from those passages we’ve already heard countless times. He’ll give us new insights into how they relate to us now if we open our minds and hearts to what He wants to tell us. Get rid of the clutter – the chaos and noise around you – and take a few quiet moments with the Lord. Open the New Testament and read a few passages slowly until something catches your attention. Then, throughout your day, keep those words in mind and every once in a while ask the Lord what He wants you to learn from them. Write down the thoughts that come to you.

God also speaks to us through nature and through each other. ‘Declutter’ here by, say, turning off the radio while you’re driving and letting the magnificence of creation, including the glistening snow, remind you of the power of His love for you. Listen to His love expressed to you through your family and friends. Notice Him working through the people in your community. When you’re standing in line, offer friendly conversation to someone nearby, or use the time to ponder the Scripture passage you’ve read, instead of passing the time on your phone.  

God speaks to us through Scripture, nature, and each other. Let’s clear out the noise and clutter that distracts us from noticing the many ways He’s showing His powerful love to us. Let’s give Him the time and space to speak to us. 

“The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12

Open my heart, Lord, that I may hear You.

Thank you for reading my reflection!  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words.    © 2025 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, the reader, to reflect on a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional spiritual reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Comments are always welcome! Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list. 

You can also find my posts on my Facebook page!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home, in Ukraine, Russia, the Middle East, and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

Inspired to Love

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Think of a time, maybe when you were in school, when you felt inadequate or unacceptable to some degree. Maybe you had made a mistake and were ridiculed for it. And then, someone – maybe a teacher or a coach – said a kind word to you that made you feel forgiven and accepted, and not condemned. This kindness inspired you to try harder or to make amends for your mistake.  

That teacher or coach was imitating Christ, whether they intended to or not. By offering kindness to you, by not berating you for whatever you had done, and by inspiring you to do better, they did for you what Christ has done, and still does, for so many.

In Jesus’ day, the rabbis and religious leaders looked with contempt on those who were not as ‘blessed’ or ‘holy’ as they thought themselves to be. Whereas these leaders associated only with people like themselves, Jesus hung around with everyone else, including tax collectors and ‘sinners.’ Regardless of their past transgressions, He showed them that they were worthy of His love. He welcomed them and offered them acceptance and love. He gave them dignity. He didn’t accept them so that they could justify their sinful behavior; He loved them so much that they were inspired to abandon their hurtful ways and do their best to live the way of love He was teaching.

We are all loved by God; we’re also sinners. We all make choices – in our thoughts and in our words, in what we do or fail to do – that hurt ourselves or others, or that put a wedge in our relationship with God. Christ came to show us not only that He doesn’t condemn us, but that His way is the better way. He challenges us to ask His forgiveness and then abandon whatever it is that is unloving. He invites us to trust Him that we’ll be happier if we do our best to imitate Him. Part of being a mature Christian is acknowledging our need for God’s mercy and grace to strengthen us against the temptation to sin. We need Him, the Physician, to heal and empower us. 

No matter what we’ve done, Christ welcomes us to Himself. When we believe His promise that we’re worthy of His love and forgiveness, we’ll be strengthened to abandon our old, hurtful ways and follow His way instead. We turn to Him for forgiveness, and then separate ourselves from whatever or whoever has caused us to sin. Confident in His love, we more readily offer kindness and compassion to others so that they, too, become inspired to love and live His way. This is how we build the Kingdom of God.

“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” – Mark 2:17

“Lord, thank You for loving, forgiving, and empowering me.”

Thank you for reading my reflection.  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words!    © 2025 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, the reader, to reflect on a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional spiritual reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Comments are always welcome! Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature, nor do I receive any kind of payment for my writings. I depend on you, the readers, to share my reflections with your friends. Thank you!

You can also find my posts on my Facebook page!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home, in Ukraine, Russia, the Middle East, and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

Let Christ Get Into Your Boat

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In Mark’s gospel, the apostles are rowing their boat with the winds blowing against them. They’re straining at the oars – anyone who has rowed or paddled against the wind can relate to this! Then, they see Christ walking on the water and they’re terrified. As He walks toward them, He tells them He’s with them so there’s nothing to be afraid of. He gets into their boat and the wind stops. Why didn’t Christ stop the wind first? He wanted them to learn that He’d be with them during any trial, and that no obstacle could stop Him. 

He wants us to learn from this, too. Just as He saw the apostles’ fight against the wind, Christ sees our struggles, too. He makes Himself available to us to calm our fears. Do we let Him get into our boat? And how do we do this? 

We recognize, first, that fear babbles at us and tries to keep our minds fixed on everything that can go wrong or everything we’ve done wrong. In contrast, faith lets us keep our focus on Christ’s love for us. Faith gives us the courage to believe and trust that He’s with us, and will stay with us, and that He’ll calm the storms around and within us. Later in the passage, Mark points out that they crossed the lake and landed at Gennesaret. So we know that, after Christ got into their boat, the apostles continued to row until they reached the shore. So faith lets us say, “OK, God, everything’s in Your hands. I’m going to keep rowing; I ask You to guide me in the direction You want me to go.” Our job is to listen and then act when we sense Him steering us in a particular direction.

It’s this turning to Christ, this asking Him to guide us, that frees us from our fears of the fierce winds we’re battling. We recognize that maybe the only thing in our control is how we ‘row our boat’ while the winds blow. We can row frantically on our own and let ourselves be filled with anxiety, or we can row steadily, trusting Christ to be with us and lead us, not allowing fear to overwhelm us. 

We can’t ignore our struggles, just as the apostles couldn’t ignore the wind. Like the apostles, we let Christ into our ‘boat’ – whatever situation we find ourselves in – and continue to row with Him by our side. We ask Him to calm the storm that’s raging in and around us. We listen for His direction and act accordingly. And in doing all of this, we open our hearts to His peace. 

“‘Then He saw that they were tossed about while rowing… and said to them, ‘Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!’ He got into the boat with them and the wind died down.” – Mark 6:48, 50-51

“Lord, stay with me. Guide me. Let me experience Your peace.”

Thank you for reading my reflection.  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words!    © 2025 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, the reader, to reflect on a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional spiritual reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Comments are always welcome! Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list. 

You can also find my posts on my Facebook page!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home, in Ukraine, Russia, the Middle East, and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

Happy New Year!

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A new year, a new day, another opportunity to begin again.

Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions? These often center around our physical well-being. We resolve to do things like exercise more, stop smoking, or save more money. If your health is suffering or you’re being reckless with your spending, then you’d probably benefit from making those kinds of concrete changes. Your body is a gift to you from God, as are your talents that allow you to work to support yourself or your family. Caring for and using our gifts wisely is how we thank God for them.

Remember, though, that we are more than our bodies and our bank accounts. We have more to look forward to than what this world offers us: we have eternal life to prepare for! If our body is fit but our soul is corroded, and if our bank account is healthy but we’re stingy with our neighbors, what good will that bring us in eternity? If we have all we need and more but are unwilling to share what we have with the less fortunate, how will we recognize Christ when He comes to us – He, Who disguises Himself in this life as the poor and suffering? 

President Jimmy Carter, who passed away December 29, gives us a good example of how we can ‘walk the talk’ of our faith. He didn’t only profess to love his neighbor; he lived it, whether that was by negotiating peace or building homes with Habitat for Humanity. 

As we begin this new year, make it a priority to ask our Lord to show you what He wants of you – and then listen for His answer. Maybe begin by getting into the habit of reading spiritual material for a few minutes every day. You may want to look into Word Among Us (https://wau.org/) or the Laudate app. Both of these give brief reflections on how the day’s scripture readings relate to our daily lives, as well as inspiring stories of how both ordinary people like ourselves and the saints lived out their faith. 

We can’t take our body or our possessions with us, so let’s examine how much time and energy we’re putting into our preparations for eternity compared to the time and energy we put into what is temporary. Let’s ask Christ to give us the grace to make one or two concrete changes that will help us become more like Him: more patient, loving, generous, humble, and compassionate. 

Let’s ask our Lord to help us prepare for eternal life. 

“Do not love the world or the things of the world… For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.” – 1 John 2:15-17

“Lord, show me what to do to prepare for eternity with You.”

Thank you for reading my reflection.  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words!    © 2025 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, the reader, to reflect on a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional spiritual reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Comments are always welcome! Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list.

You can also find my reflections on my Facebook page!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home, in Ukraine, Russia, the Middle East, and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

Merry Christmas!

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Imagine Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. They’re exhausted, Mary has gone into labor, and all the rooms in town are taken. Finally, they’re led to a stable, where at least Mary could rest and they would be protected from the elements. They may have wondered why God didn’t intervene in helping them find a proper place for Mary to deliver baby Jesus instead of being stuck in a stable with cows and sheep.

God, in His wisdom, wanted to use the circumstances of Jesus’ birth to teach us the holiness of humility. By allowing Himself to be born in a smelly stable and laid in a dirty manger – a food trough for animals – Christ united Himself with the poor, the powerless, and the humble. He proved that all people are precious to Him. 

Also, despite their crude appearance, the stable and manger became holy because the Son of God dwelt there. Since Christ lives in you, that means He can make YOU holy, too. Yes, YOU have holiness within you. You may see only your shortcomings and failings; He sees the beauty, goodness, and potential in your heart. You may think He won’t want to come to you or He won’t love you fully until you clean up your act. But look at how He came to us as a baby: in a smelly stable and dirty manger. He didn’t wait for a cleaner place; He was willing to use the lowliest of dwellings to deliver His message of love to the world. 

This Christmas, thank Christ for loving you, just as you are, and ask Him to make you holy with His loving presence. Offer to Him the ‘smelly stable’ of your day-to-day experience and the ‘dirty manger’ you see of your shortcomings. Open the door of your heart to Him and let Him transform you with His love. Let Him change you from someone whose heart may resemble something like a dirty ‘food trough’ full of things like pride and selfishness to a person who carries the love of Christ with them, who shows their world His humility and compassion. Let Him change you from someone whose heart may resemble a ‘smelly stable’ that houses bitterness and emptiness to a person who confidently shares the joyful news of God’s infinite love.  Let Him affect your every thought, word, and deed. Let Him make you holy.

Trust that He will use you, as He used the stable and manger that Christmas night long ago, to bring you closer to Him and help you bring His Love, Peace, and Joy to the world.

Merry Christmas!

“She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” –Luke 2:7 

“Lord, let the miracle of Your birth transform me this Christmas and make me more like You!” 

Thank you for reading my reflection.  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words!    © 2024 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, the reader, to reflect on a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional spiritual reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Comments are always welcome! Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list.

You can also find my posts on my Facebook page!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home, in Ukraine, Russia, the Middle East, and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

Make Room for More

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“Let every heart prepare Him room…”  We’ve all sung the joyful carol “O Come All Ye Faithful” countless times. In this last week before Christmas, let’s take a moment to examine how we might prepare our hearts for His coming.

We know that Christ’s love dwells in us and that it is meant to be shared. (Remember the saying, “Love isn’t love till you give it away”?) We prepare our hearts by spending time contemplating His immense love for us and then sharing that love with others in many different ways. So, the gifts we give at Christmas, whether they’re tangible items, our time, or our talents, are our response to God’s love for us. This response not only pours love onto the other person, it allows Christ’s love to grow in our hearts, too. Each time we give generously, Christ’s love expands in our hearts and creates a cycle that makes us more and more like Him:  When we give of ourselves, when we give away His love, we open our hearts to accept more of that love from Him. This love comes to us along with His gifts of peace and joy so that we’re inspired to share even more with others, which then opens our hearts for even more of His love. What does this look like in practice?

While you carefully consider what to give to someone special… while you’re making, baking, or buying a gift that will make them smile… while you’re anticipating with excitement the happiness your gift will bring... you’re preparing to share God’s Love and Joy and, in the process, you’re making room in your heart for more.

When you’re kind, patient, and cheerful with the harried cashier… when you over-tip the stressed-out wait staff…. when you let someone go ahead of you in line and then strike up a friendly conversation with them… you’re sharing God’s Love, Peace, and Joy, and making room in your heart for more.

When you put something in the red kettle… when you donate toward a community Giving Tree… when you give in any way to people in need… you’re offering God’s Love, Joy, and Hope, and making room in your heart for more.

When you bake Christmas cookies to share… when you participate in a gift exchange… when you decorate your workspace or home… you’re sharing God’s Love and Joy, and making room in your heart for more.

When we make room in our hearts for more of His love, peace, and joy, we find ourselves becoming more loving, patient, generous, and kind over time. We become more like Him.

Christ came to show us the way. Let’s take steps this week to prepare our hearts for His coming. Let’s give Him room to fill us with even more.

“Teach me Your ways, O Lord,” – Psalm 25:4

“Lord, help me prepare my heart for Your coming.”

Thank you for reading my reflection.  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words!    © 2024 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, the reader, to reflect on a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional spiritual reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Comments are always welcome! Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list.

You can also find my posts on Facebook!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home, in Ukraine, Russia, the Middle East, and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.