Planting the Seed

Louisa Ikena reflects on planting the seed of God’s Word even when it all seems to be ineffective.

I recently taught a high-school lesson on the Bible that totally bombed. It felt like all I succeeded in doing was to bore about 30 teenagers to tears. It occurred during an extracurricular enrichment period, and students had choices for the signup. I thought that if the students consciously chose a Bible study instead of another activity offered, they would be engaged and enthusiastic. I was wrong. Many of the students had their heads on their desks part way through the period.

I had worked hard on the content. I put as much passion as I could into it. I reached the end of what I was in control of. And the Bible study bombed. It was very discouraging to face the reality of that fact. At first, it caused me to doubt my ability to teach and communicate well. Then the event caused me to question if I was in the right place in my life.

God Causes the Growth

Then I took it to prayer, and my perspective changed. Saint Paul writes,

I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

Those verses helped me get honest with myself. Did I want enthusiasm demonstrated for God’s Word or to stroke my ego? Had I fully surrendered the class period to God, or was I trying to be in control? The answers to those questions convicted my heart.

I was called to listen deeply in obedience to God. I was called to plant the seed. The planter of the seed rarely sees immediate results. I am called to be faithful. Any “success” or growth is caused by God Himself. Any good that I do is God working through me. I am not the source of the good.

Rich Soil

It is said that it takes a village to raise a child. When it comes to my own upbringing, that is certainly true. Some truths of our Catholic faith I simply couldn’t or wouldn’t hear from my parents. Yet in the right time, at the right place, I heard and listened to those exact same truths from someone else who was not related to me by blood. My heart was rich soil, prepped and ready to hear God’s voice speaking at some points in my life, and not others.

In the parable of the Sower (Luke 8:4-15), God sows an abundance of seeds. There are so many distractions, so many thorns, that threaten to choke off the Good News in our lives. Many of us, myself included, notice how our attention span has decreased due to many distractions. I am very easily distracted, especially by social media. Yet God continues to sow His Word. I ask myself: Is my heart prepped and ready to listen deeply today?

I’m not called to do it all: plant, water, and reap the harvest. I hear the specific call to plant. It’s not a glamorous call, but it’s a solid call that is very needed in our world. I encourage you, and I encourage myself, to continue to stay faithful to the call to plant the seeds. It might take a million Bible studies that feel like they bombed. But it’s not my power potentially causing growth, it's God’s power.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for your call. Please help me persevere doing Your Will as best as I understand it at this moment. Help remind me that I’m not alone. And help me know very deep inside me that You alone are the source of all good and all growth. Today, help me plant the seed. Amen.

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Copyright 2026 Louisa Ann Irene Ikena
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