You Get What You Plant – Harvest Week!

In honor of God's changing seasons, we are celebrating Harvest Week with fall-themed stories and crafts for you this week!

First off, let's dive into a deep cut Keys for Kids story about planting seeds of kindness:

Listen to this story here:

“I wish we were freezing green beans or corn or something instead of canning tomatoes,” Grace said as she watched her mother pour bright red stewed tomatoes into quart jars. “I don't like canned tomatoes very much!”

“Depends on what you want to use them for. Corn and green beans don't work so well for spaghetti sauce,” replied Mom. “Besides, we didn't plant any green beans or corn this year.”

“Well, next year…” began Grace, but then her tablet dinged and she reached to check her new message. “What?” she said after a moment. “That's totally not fair!”

“What's going on?” Mom asked.

“It's just a big mess,” Grace muttered. “Ava told Sally that I think Isabelle is stuck-up. Sally told Celeste, and Celeste actually told Isabelle! Now Isabelle's not inviting me to her birthday party!”

“Where did Ava get the idea that you think Isabelle is stuck-up?” asked Mom.

“Well–I told her,” said Grace, “but I didn't think she'd tell anybody else.” She moaned. “Now all my friends will be going to Isabelle's party without me. It's not fair!”

“But why should Isabelle invite you to her party if you've been talking behind her back? It's no wonder she doesn't think of you as a friend.” Mom held up a tomato. “We planted tomatoes this spring, so tomatoes–not green beans or corn–are what we have now. The Bible teaches that we harvest what we plant–in life as well as in the garden. You planted gossip and hurtful words, and now you're harvesting the results. That's the way it works.”

“So what am I supposed to do about it?” asked Grace.

“You should tell Isabelle you're sorry and show her that you want to be her friend. It may take a while to repair the damage you've done, but that would be what Jesus wants you to do.”

“I guess so,” said Grace with a sigh. “I may not be able to fix things in time for her to invite me to her party, but maybe if I plant things to show her how sorry I am for hurting her, we can still be friends.” She twisted a lid onto a jar of tomatoes. “And maybe if I do the same thing in the garden, we can have green beans and corn next year!”

Nance E. Keyes

HOW ABOUT YOU?

What kind of words and actions do you plant? Are they things that Jesus would say and do? Or are they mean, dishonest, or selfish? Remember—you get what you plant! When you plant things that are hurtful in the way you treat others, your relationships will suffer. Instead, show others the love of Jesus by planting seeds of love and kindness.

Today's Key Verse: 

“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.” Galatians 6:7 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought:

Plant loving words and actions.