Seed 2: The Seed of Comfort
How Sorrow Became a Place of Calling
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:18
When God Plants a Seed in Sorrow’s Soil
In the quiet weeks that followed my first sermon, God planted another unexpected seed—this time inviting me to comfort the grieving, to stand beside families whose sorrow was still fresh and tender. I understood grief. I had said a final earthly farewell to my beloved father in June of 2024, and I had bravely entered into another new year as a widow. I had been retired from full‑time teaching for less than a year, and I felt God tugging me in new directions.
This tug led me to stand at gravesites and memorial services, speaking words of comfort and affirmation of God’s care of the departed. It came about, as most things in my life do, because I wrote words and published them on my blog. The first call came from a dear friend whose father—a saint who had served those in his church and community with love—had been a great source of comfort to me when my husband had the car accident that changed our lives. She wanted to know if I would read what I had written.
I did not hesitate in saying yes. God had given me the words to write; He would give me the words to speak.
Words That Became Ministry
Three more times in 2025, I found myself eulogizing someone dear in my blog, and three times I received a call to read those God‑breathed words. Each time, I felt God pulling me, using the words He had given me not just for that moment, but as a written record for those who were grieving.
The United Methodist Church burial service includes a “Committal Service,” one which affirms that the loved one will be ushered through the gates of Heaven and invites those present to reaffirm their own faith. As I stood at those gravesites, I felt the Holy Spirit again reaching down to me, pulling me to listen with my very soul.
The Seed Beneath the Seed
What I thought was a single seed—the call to comfort—was actually preparing the ground for another. Beneath the ministry of grief, God was planting a deeper invitation, one that would soon push through the surface: the call to steward the gifts He had entrusted to me.
🌿 Closing Prayer
Lord, You who draw near to the brokenhearted, thank You for planting comfort in the deepest places of our grief. Teach us to listen with our souls, to speak with Your gentleness, and to trust that even in sorrow’s soil, You are growing something holy. Amen.
🌿 Reflection Question
Where have you seen God bring comfort to you—or through you—in a season of sorrow, and how might that tender place be preparing the soil for a new seed He is planting?