Faith, the Helpless Little Seed
I’ve been told, taught, and re-taught that faith is like a seed.
“For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." Mathew 17:20–21
To me, this meant that faith needs to be nurtured and grown through proactive care, like a seed. You know the drill: soil, water, sunlight. Not too much and not too little.
I believed that the right conditions, fostered by me, would allow my roots to sink deep. Only if I cared for faith would it break through the soil and reach upward. It was up to me to grow, and if I didn’t, then I’d done something wrong.
But that’s not how seeds work.
I’ve seen thousands of plants in my lifetime, and I am yet to see one water, plant, or nurture itself.
A seed’s survival depends entirely on the rest of life. The sun must shine. The soil must nourish. The water must arrive, often.
Faith like a seed is total surrender. Trust in the rest of life.
My ego really liked the other story. The belief that I could control my growth. That it was up to me. Each obstacle was another chance to show my strength. Each victory was mine to claim. I could reach toward the full realization of my ego’s desire: to be better than the others.
“Look what I’ve done.” — no tree ever
I’m not minimizing the persistence and patience that each seed must require to spout and grow. Survival is so difficult. It requires intention. It requires strength and tenacity. It requires hope, the belief that what is needed will arrive when needed.
“Look what what the soil, the sun, and the water have made me!?” — Trees
Growth requires the right conditions: intention and submission, hope and doubt, belief and disbelief, death and regeneration.
I don’t know your story, but I’m certain that you have been exposed to extreme conditions. Conditions that have deepened your roots. Conditions that have pushed you to the ends of your will. You have so much growth to be proud of. You have endured, sprouted, and reached upward.
It’s true that you did that. It’s also true that you didn’t do that. All of us are helpless seeds, slowly growing, dependent on ourselves and the rest of life to keep growing. Growth cannot be forced. Control does not deepen roots. Doing more, working harder, pushing yourself…these are not acts of faith. “Having” faith comes with the recognition that we “have” nothing.
Faith is surrender. Trust in the abundance of the life and light around us.
Like seeds, we are never helpless, because we are never alone.
