More Than Corn

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. —Psalm 139:16, NKJV

I went home to Louisiana, United States of America, for a visit, and while there, I stayed with a friend. We spent Sabbath afternoon on her back porch talking and enjoying nature. From the porch, we could see hummingbirds feeding from the feeder.

A beautiful white bird sunbathed at the edge of the pond, and tall, majestic oaks lined the perimeter of her property. As beautiful as her backyard was, it had not always looked that way. As we sat and talked, she shared with me this story.

One day her husband asked her to go with him to look at some property he wanted to buy. When they arrived at the property, she could not believe her eyes. It was a huge cornfield. She did not understand why her husband wanted to buy a cornfield.

He explained that he wanted to raise their children in the country. My friend was not in favor of the plan. Her husband responded, “You have to see the vision.” She truly tried, but when she looked, all she could see was corn. After many discussions, they decided to buy the property. Her husband graded the land and made it suitable for their mobile home. Later, he and his son dug a pond and filled it with fish. Then he sectioned off small plots for gardening and built a gazebo next to the pond. Finally, he built my friend her dream home.

She shared with me how she had thanked her husband for seeing a vision for their land even when she could not. Now, after thirty years, there is nowhere else she would prefer to live. Often in life, we look at others or even ourselves and see only corn, unable to see past the rough exterior and apparent mess. However, when God looks at us, He sees our future. With that future in mind, He begins to work, molding and shaping us into the vision He has had for us all along. Even before we were born, God was working on that vision.

It does not matter how we stray or stay in the cornfield—God never forgets the future He has planned for us. I cannot wait for the day when I stand on the sea of glass, cast my crown at His feet, and thank Him for seeing more than corn in me.

Carmalita Green