The Stalk Said

 
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How does a grain of wheat feel as it is planted in the soil? To answer that, I imagine interviewing a stalk of wheat, for every stalk was once a grain. 

Here is what the stalk might say: “I liked being a grain of wheat I was proud of who I was: Golden. Smooth. Perfectly intact. But then some farmer dug a hole and tossed me into it. ‘What's going on?’ I asked. But my question was met with silence. Then the dirt came pouring down upon me. I protested, ‘Hey! You're burying me alive! Stop!' But no one heard me.

“I sat in total darkness. Afraid. Then I felt something. Moisture. At first, I thought, Good. I won't die of thirst. But soon I began to get soggy; I sensed my golden color was fading. My smooth exterior became wrinkly. My intactness was breached as I was split asunder. I whimpered, ‘I’m dying ... This is the end of me.’

“Then something amazing happened. Out of my shriveled, broken, dying self, two shoots emerged. One began pushing upward, the other downward--both powered by a force within and beyond me. As my root went down, my shoot went up until it broke through the soil and into the brightness of the sun. I was no longer a grain of wheat--but something better: a stalk of wheat. From me would come forth many, many grains of wheat that would help feed the people of the world.”

In closing, the stalk said: “Trust the farmer... Befriend silence and darkness... Embrace transformation... Willingly relinquish your intactness... Believe... For the end is really the beginning.”

by Sr. Melannie Svoboda

As we enter into Jesus' death with Him, consider: 

  • Is there something in my life that shriveled, broken and/or dying? Perhaps a belief, a relationship, your physical or emotional health? How would you describe your current circumstance?

  • Are you afraid and in the dark? What does it feel like? Tell God everything.

  • Have there been any “treasures in the darkness, riches stored in secret places”? (Isaiah 45:3) If not, tell God what you need.

  • Do you sense any movement upward and/or downward—hopeful and/or grounding? Describe your hope and/or grounding.

  • If not, tell God what it is like to wait: "Lord, I feel _____."

  • How might God feed others by your “death”?

JUDY

 
Judy Nelson Lewis