The Yellow Brick Road.: Dandelions

Matthew 13:31-32: "³¹He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. ³²Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."

Now that I finally have a few free minutes, I'd love to share something that happened on the intern training retreat. My teammates and I split up for half an hour to spend some time alone with God, and during this time I decided to walk through a large field of dandelions and sit by the lake it bordered. As I sat and talked to God, I felt led to read the Parable of the Mustard Seed, a parable that I've never really been able to relate

to since I've never seen a mustard tree. As I read the verses I couldn't help but look around at the thousands of dandelions surrounding me and thinking, "This is what Jesus was talking about!"

Yes, I know dandelions aren't strong trees. That being said, they are weeds which is exactly what farmers considered mustard seeds to be during Jesus's time on earth. Weeds are nearly impossible to uproot. Weeds spread their seeds quickly with the help of the wind. Weeds take over.

As Christ-followers, we should want to be weeds. We should be willing to go wherever the Lord wants us to go in order to share His story. We should be so firmly rooted in our faith that nobody can lead us astray. We should spread God's love all over until His presence is known everywhere we go. We should be dandelions. We should be mustard seeds. We should be witnesses.

So that was just one of the many things God communicated to me during the retreat. The rest I will just have to tell you in person because, like I said in my previous entry, it's far too long a story to write about.

I have had a great first week in Tartu; I'm looking forward to having this weekend for some R&R time, and I'm also excited about getting back into the office on Monday to get serious with the prep work for the English camps. Please continue to keep my team and the people of Estonia in your prayers; this is a dark country, but God is doing some amazing things in the hearts of the people here. Thank you for your

support! Or, as we say in Estonia, aitäh (pronounced eye-tuh)!