The Seeds Planted in the Fire
“Because the seeds we plant in faith may become the very roots our children stand on when their own storms come.”
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 NIV
I watched my oldest son standing at the sink, washing his already cracked, dry hands beneath the soapy water. Again. My heart ached as I heard my husband gently say, “Buddy, you don’t need to wash your hands again.” Such an ordinary moment, yet it revealed something much deeper. Fear. The fear of getting sick. And the heartbreaking realization that the years we spent fighting to survive had left wounds in my child’s heart that I couldn’t always see.
When Braven was just eighteen months old, his daddy was diagnosed with cancer. At five years old, he said goodbye to his daddy as God took him home. One year later, I received my own stage four cancer diagnosis. Most of his childhood has been marked by sickness, loss, and isolation. Desperate to protect our family, we kept our world small, homeschooling, avoiding germs, and withdrawing from much of the world around us. While other children were making friends and enjoying the carefree innocence of childhood, my little boy was growing up beneath the weight of a fear no child should have to carry. He's ten now, and I grieve the pieces of childhood he never got to experience. Sometimes I wonder: In trying so desperately to protect him, did I somehow hurt him?
But as I look at the young man Braven is becoming, I am beginning to see something I hadn't recognized before. While I was grieving everything he had lost, I was overlooking everything God was growing within him. In the midst of so much uncertainty, we were planting seeds of faith. We sought God in His Word, prayed together, and learned to trust Him when we had no idea what tomorrow would bring. Braven learned to recite Psalm 91, and to this day, before we close our eyes each night, our family recites it together, prays aloud, and declares God's promises over our lives. He watched us cling to Jesus when everything around us seemed to be falling apart and witnessed me seek God's voice and follow Him in obedience, even when I couldn't see where He was leading.
And he witnessed miracles. He watched God save my life and cure me of cancer, and he was there when God gave me the gift of speaking in tongues. He didn't just hear about the supernatural power of God through stories in the Bible. He witnessed God's hand moving in our own family. Today, Braven is a kind, intelligent little boy with such a heart for Jesus. He is thoughtful, responsible, and wise beyond his years, and he knows for himself that God is real, alive, and present in our lives. I see now that suffering wasn't the only thing shaping him. All along, faith had been taking root in the fire.
Motherhood is full of seasons we never anticipated. Some come through circumstances beyond our control, while others are shaped by our own choices, mistakes, fears, or disobedience. Sometimes it's a mixture of both, but the beautiful truth is that no season is beyond God's ability to redeem. Even in the hardest seasons, we have opportunities to plant seeds of faith. Seeds of trust when nothing makes sense. Seeds of obedience when the path ahead is uncertain. Seeds of surrender when everything in us wants to hold on to control. Galatians 6:9 reminds us not to grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
I cannot undo the hardships Braven endured. His fears are real, and I still pray for friendships, healing, and opportunities to experience the childhood he missed. But now I am beginning to recognize glimpses of a harvest I couldn't see growing during those difficult years. Maybe that's what we need to remember as mothers. We cannot prepare a life without storms for our children, but we can help them develop a faith that will sustain them through those storms. We can teach them to seek God's voice, stand on His Word, and follow Him in obedience, even when life doesn't make sense. So don't grow weary, mama. Even in impossible seasons, do not give up. Keep praying. Keep listening. Keep obeying. Keep planting. Because the seeds we plant in faith may become the very roots our children stand on when their own storms come.
After reading today's devotional, spend some quiet time with God. Think about the season your family is walking through. What have you been grieving, fearing, or wishing you could change? Now ask yourself a harder question: While I've been focused on what my children may be missing, what might they be witnessing?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where He has been at work in your family, even in the difficult places. Write down three things your children have witnessed about God through your family's journey. Thank Him for the seeds you may not have recognized were growing.
Faith Follow-Through:
This week, take some time to grow in motherhood and faith:
Tuesday:
Surrender What You Cannot Undo
Read Isaiah 43:18–19. Is there something from your children's past that you keep replaying? A season you wish had been different? A decision you question? A hardship you couldn't protect them from?
Write it down. Be honest with God about the weight you've been carrying. Then pray over each thing, surrendering it to Him. Ask Him to bring healing where it's needed and to show you what faithfulness looks like today.
You cannot rewrite yesterday, but you can choose what you plant today.
Wednesday:
Let Them See You Seek Him
Our children learn about faith not only through what we teach them, but through what they witness us doing.
Today, invite your children into a real moment of seeking God. Share something you're praying about, a Scripture you're standing on, or a time God carried you through something difficult. Then ask them, “Is there anything you're worried about or need God's help with?”
Listen without rushing to fix it. Pray together, out loud, right there in that moment. Let them experience what it looks like to bring real fears to a real and present God.
Thursday:
Plant Something That Will Outlast You
Read Galatians 6:9 again. Think about the roots you want your children to stand on when they face storms of their own.
Choose one simple, intentional practice of faith to establish in your home. Maybe it's praying together before bed, speaking Scripture over your children, sharing where you saw God move each day, or asking God for direction before making family decisions.
In our family, we learned Psalm 91 together, and to this day, we recite it every night before closing our eyes. Consider inviting your children to choose a Scripture your family can learn together. Read it aloud each night, memorize it little by little, and plant His Word so deeply in their hearts that they will carry it with them long after they leave your home.
Make it something you can continue long after this devotional ends.
Then pray over your children by name. Ask God to grow the seeds you've planted into a faith that will sustain them when you're not there to guide every step.
Don't grow weary, mama. Keep planting. The harvest may be growing in places you cannot yet see.
Written by Bethany, mom of 2
