WHEN LOVE BEGINS TO FLOW AGAIN

The soil felt dead… then God started planting again.

There are seasons when God speaks in a whirlwind, and then there are seasons like the one I find myself in now: a slow, quiet stretching. In this gentle unfolding, I sensed God tending to the soil of my heart, nurturing places I didn’t realize were dry. As He leaned close, He planted one simple truth: love isn’t something I produce by effort; it’s something He sows into me. As the Psalmist says, “You visit the earth and water it… the river of God is full of water” (Psalm 65:9).

That realization felt like rain on thirsty ground. I had been living as if the fruit of love depended on my determination. As though I were the gardener responsible for growth. But God corrected that picture. I am not the gardener. I am the soil. Soil doesn’t strive; it receives. As 1 Corinthians 3:9 reminds us, we are “God’s field.”

“The seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it” (Matthew 13:23). This verse echoed in my heart. Fruit comes from remaining soft and receptive. Growth isn’t about striving harder; it’s about staying connected. When love depends on me, it runs dry. When it flows from Him, it becomes supernatural. He never asked me to be the source—only to remain connected to the Source.

God has also shown me that His love meets me in the ordinary messiness of life. He whispers, “I don’t love the polished version of you. I love the real you.” His love becomes clearest in the honest places where I admit I have nothing left. There, His promise stands firm: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

If I could summarize what He is teaching me, it is this: I don’t need more strength—I need deeper connection. Jesus’ words, “Apart from Me, you can do nothing,” are not a rebuke; they are an invitation. My role is simply to remain.

I’m learning that love flows in a beautiful rhythm: upward, inward, and outward. It begins upward as I receive from Him,“We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). It moves inward as His love restores the soil of my heart. Then it flows outward as fruit that nourishes others.

Perhaps the most comforting truth is that God never rushes the soil. “See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth” (James 5:7). Growth is not measured by speed but by depth. I don’t have to force fruit. My responsibility is to stay open and yielded.

As Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15:4). Love begins with Him. Love grows in me. And love flows through me, like seed, like soil, like a harvest.

Lucy Okenkali
Curriculum Development Team (Growth Teams)
Gabon