He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
2 Corinthians 9:10-11, ESV
“The seeds of my life were planted into a family that loved God,” says Ethel Stoner, who considers herself blessed to have grown up in the church, being taught about the truths of Jesus. “My spiritual life began when I was eight years old, and I accepted Jesus into my life,” says Ethel, now in her eighties. The seeds that were planted in her life were watered by various Sunday School teachers, youth leaders, and Christian school teachers.
“I was very knowledgeable about the Bible, a Bible quizzer, and became a Sunday School teacher in my college years. I became very involved in serving in various area of ministry and leadership during my teens, but I had some questions that I could not resolve spiritually.” As the seeds of Ethel’s life continued to be watered into adulthood, she would journey through many seasons of planting, growing, and harvesting, each rooting her more deeply in her relationship with the Lord.
Just after attending college and receiving a degree in elementary education, Ethel married her late-husband, John. They immediately moved to Colorado where John worked in a hospital as alternate military service. Ethel taught school for one year before they welcomed their first child, and it wasn’t long before they moved back to Pennsylvania, where John would take over his family vegetable farm.
This became a season of immense growth for Ethel. She was still adjusting to life as a wife and mother, and felt like a passenger in her husband’s work on the farm. Her days were spent picking veggies in the field, helping to prepare for market days, and caring for her home and family. While she wasn’t ungrateful, Ethel felt unfulfilled, and she began to struggle with anger and frustration as she continued to wrestle with many of the spiritual questions of her youth: “What is my purpose?
Am I enough? How do I know what the Holy Spirit is asking of me?” As Ethel grappled with her questions, she turned her focus to serving in the local church. She taught Sunday School, led the children’s worship program, developed curriculum for adult learning environments, and even served as a deaconess. “The pastors empowered me to be in all kinds of ministry,” she says, “so I was in a lot of roles of leadership.” Serving became a creative outlet for Ethel, but she continued to wonder if she was really good enough. “I lived on adrenaline during those years and tried to find my identity in what I did for the church and others. I struggled with the feeling that I was not good enough, especially not in the eyes of those I served.”
It took many years for Ethel to truly realize her identity in Christ. She recalls that the leader of a group she and her husband attended would often remind them of 1 Corinthians 8:3 – “But if anyone loves God, he is known by God” (ESV). She reflects, “I was slow to understand what that meant. I did love God, but I didn’t get the part that it was safe to be known by God.” It didn’t happen overnight, but through time and experience, being in community, and reading books and God’s Word, Ethel began to realize that God, through the Holy Spirit, was changing her heart.
Mostly, she began to realize that it was safe for God to know her: “He was my guide, [my] helper, [my] comforter. He also challenged the times when my walk did not please Him. I began to understand my identity was in who God saw me to be. If I was good enough for God, then I was not concerned about my image in the eyes of other people. The Holy Spirit was helping me in the ministries I was called to do.” This decades-long season of growth led to a season of harvest for Ethel. She was leaning into her Christ-centered identity, watching her kids grow up and become independent, enjoying the fruits of her labor. After some time, God called Ethel and John to help re-plant a local church that was in need of new life. This turned into nineteen years of ministry, where God was faithful to provide much growth. Again, Ethel spent her time helping with kids and adult ministries, leading music, organizing Christmas programs, and working with small groups. It was a sweet time of ministry but eventually, God made it clear to Ethel and John that their work at the church plant was complete. Following their time at the church plant, Ethel and John returned to their home church. They appreciated slowing down, traveling, & enjoying life together. Ethel even began to realize a new passion for visiting those who are homebound, leaning into a practical way for her to serve in this new season of life.
But, in 2022, her life changed again when John became ill and was called home to heaven. It’s been another season of growth, as she is again adjusting to a new normal. While she has experienced both loneliness and sorrow, she has also experienced love and care through people who have brought light and comfort into her life. Now, she feels the Holy Spirit leading her to start planting new seeds.
Ethel is not exactly sure what planting will look like, but she is open. She knows that God will lead her, in His time, to the next right thing, and she is challenged by the words of the hymn, I Then Shall Live:
Your kingdom come around and thorough and in me.
Your power and glory, let them shine through me.
Your Hallowed Name, O may I bear with honor,
And may your living kingdom live in me.
The bread of life, O may I share with honor,
And may you feed a hungry world through me. Amen
“God’s promise, for now,” she says, “is ‘I will be your God through your lifetime. Until your hair is white with age. I have made you and I will care for you and carry you along and save you’ (Isaiah 46:4, NLT). I still need God to work on many areas of my spiritual life…I don’t know when my journey will be complete, but…I know someday the words of Jude 24 will be true. I will be presented faultless before God’s throne, with exceeding joy. Jesus will take me into His arms and say, ‘Welcome home, my child!’”