Embrace every setback, it is part of our journey!

Mk 4: 30 - 32

Mark 4 NIV (biblehub.com)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

How often do you get to the end of a day and regret something? We often turn over in our mind events, whether recent or long past, and wish we had acted differently. Perhaps we wish we had reached out to someone, to forgive or to placate and avoid future conflict. Or maybe we consider actions that we have taken over the long period and regret the path that we have taken.

Life is full of such opportunities to regret. However, it is prudent to look at forks in the road as opportunities to progress instead.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed tells us this. For me, it is the foremost parable that speaks to my head, not just my heart. In this metaphor, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed. He describes it as "the smallest of all seeds on earth" and yet when it is planted "it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants" where "birds perch in its shade".

Jesus is telling us that no matter how far away we feel from reaching our objectives (and entering the Kingdom of Heaven is the ultimate!) we must consider ourselves to be like the mustard seed: growing every day, even when it feels like we are not. Life and all of its ups and downs do not stop our progress if we allow our Lord into our hearts. It is curious that Jesus describes a bird perched in the branches of the tree. If we take a look at nature around us, it has the power to refresh us; a bird does not lie in bed at night worrying about the next day's commute to work. It is nothing compared to perching in the branches of God's Kingdom.

Therefore, if your relationship has ended, you have failed your driving test, or perhaps was passed over for that promotion, if you keep true to a life in Christ, everything that happens to us is part of our journey with, and towards, Him.