"And Jesus said to them, 'Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.'" ~ Matthew 17:20
"... with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." ~ 2 Peter 3:8
My grandpa was a lot of fun to be around. I remember him laughing a lot and he was quick witted. Yes, he would have a temper when Grandma pushed for something, but he'd quickly leave the room for awhile and smoke a cigarette for its calming effect. Unfiltered. Lucky Strikes.
I wish I knew more about Grandpa. He died from emphysema at the age of 75 when I was just 17. At this point in my life, my world revolved around ME. But make no mistake, I loved my grandpa.
Grandpa's name was Fred Lee. He was born in 1899 to James Lee and Annie Laurie Doran. My great-grandpa was from China, but we don't know much about him. (As of this writing I'm having trouble finding out how and when he died.) However, Fred seemed to be a resilient kind of guy. He lived through smallpox in his younger years with the pox scars to prove it. He survived both World War I and, lived through the pandemic Influenza with the help of his war buddy who offered Fred sips of brandy, so he said.
Yet, my grandpa would have a lifelong habit of smoking cigarettes that he just couldn't shake. Starting in his 60's, my grandpa began suffering from emphysema, a brutal disease that literally made taking breaths a monstrous effort. He would sit with a nebulizer 4x/day hoping the medicine would open his airways so he could breath more easily. Tragic.
On my 5th birthday my beloved grandpa gave me a tiny mustard seed necklace. I remember asking Grandpa what the little seed meant. As best as I can remember, he said, "The Bible says, 'If ye have the faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.'" I cherished this necklace.
Reflecting on Grandpa's gift: Their seeds are very small, but they grow large. The mustard seed in Jesus' example symbolizes the potential in faith. When a believer begins their journey, they have just begun to learn about how much God loves them, how much He wants to do for them, and all that He has for them.
As a little girl, I'd stand in front of a tree, or something relatively unmovable by human strength alone, and command it to move. Of course, the tree or whatever didn't move and I grew disenchanted by my grandpa's words. "Maybe I don't have enough faith."
It wasn't until years later that I uncovered the meaning of the tiny mustard seed. My prayers aren't always answered the way I want them to. And I've learned that God's timetable isn't like my personal timetable. But I have learned that God does hear my prayers and sometimes He gives me quick answers. Sometimes not. Mostly I've learned that given patience, God will reveal His plan for our lives when He is ready to do so.
Lastly, know that just as I cherish time with you, God cherishes time with us. Sometimes I just want to be with you and watch you engage in life. I suspect God is the same. He loves to spend time with the one He created. And through time with God, our faith flourishes just like the little mustard seed.
The mustard seed is very tiny; 1-2 mm. in diameter, yet when fully grown, the tree can be as tall as 20-30 ft. with branches and leaves spanning across another 20 ft. circumference. The magnificence of the mustard tree is not really in the height but in how wide the branches can span. It’s like a massive canopy.
