Michelle was raised in a Christian home — church on Sunday, Christian school and nightly prayers around the dinner table. When she was 19, she began to make choices that didn’t reflect her family’s values and soon drifted into a destructive lifestyle. She and her friends lived for the next party, the next thrill, and the next high with no room in their lives for spiritual matters.
One night after hours of partying in New Orleans’ French Quarter, the girls began to make their way back to their hotel. Late-night revelers in strange costumes are not unusual on Bourbon Street at 3:00 a.m., so when they encountered a small group dressed as clowns, the girls approached them to take a photo. The clowns were happy to oblige, and after the photos were taken, the girls turned to leave.
As they began to walk away, one of the clowns reached out to Michelle. He touched her gently on the shoulder, spun her around, looked deep into her eyes and said the three words that changed her life: “Jesus loves you.” There was no judgment, no harshness in his eyes, only love.
Those three words set Michelle on her journey back to God. Shaken, she knew immediately that she would never be the same. She gave her life to Christ and in the ensuing years has led a life of dedicated servanthood, living out the Gospel in her daily life and work.
Imagine the seeds you’ve planted along the way. A kind word, a smile, a meal cooked for a friend in need, or just a soft shoulder to give rest to a weary head. We may never see our seeds come to fruition, but, with faith, we plant all the same.
Jesus describes the Kingdom of God as like a mustard seed:
” … The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32
Michelle never saw that clown again and the clown has never known the impact of his words. But still he scatters mustard seeds on Bourbon Street in the middle of the night.
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Urban Renewal at Green Leaf Learning Farm
Pressed Down, Shaken Together, Running Over
Kids and Candy
An Advent Challenge
