I have a heritage in the Canadian Rockies.  Our very first cross-country trip was spent there, along with a few American parks, like Badlands, Yellowstone, and Craters of the Moon.  It was beautiful.  Outside of the Alps, we had never seen anything like it.

We returned when I was older, 11 if I recall correctly.  It’s that time in life when I was finding who I was as an individual, being a second “mom” to little siblings, and loving the life I could finally see through my first set of glasses.

And it was there, that trip, that I fell in love with the mountains for the first time.  Something in me began to respond to the cliffs and spires, to the snowspeckled peaks (that early snowstorm cost us a roll of duct tape when our tent collapsed), to the meadows of wildflowers, and to the placid reflections in peaceful alpine lakes.

I ignored the love for years.  We weren’t traveling much to the mountains, and besides, I’m too practical for such things as “loving mountains”.

But God knew better.  And in His own way, gently, with love and joy and the grace that He is He brought me to His point of view.

Recently a number of social media friends have been posting pictures from the Canadian Rockies.  I don’t have any plans to return soon; any plans I might have had (due to free admission to the parks this year) were swept away by the joy of visiting the Sierras this summer.

But the pictures reminded me of the seeds that were planted high in my northern neighbor’s mountains.  It makes me think of how God can plant a seed in unlikely places – in places where it might not even grow or mature, but the seed has been planted.  It’s like the quote of a preacher some time ago, when speaking of people who reject your message of truth: “You’ve planted a seed, so don’t worry – the plough is coming.”

Even in the rocks we see it – a tree in a smooth rock, a flower in a crevice.  A seed has been planted.  God has made it grow.

So in our lives, seeds are planted.  Some we plant intentionally, we nurture them, rejoice when they grow, like a seed in a garden.  But others are planted in the unlikely places of our hearts, and they grow, maybe not as quickly as those we nurture, but still, silently, they grow.  And if they are good seeds, they product a bountiful good crop in season.