“She’s looking for something she isn’t going to find,” Betty said. The discussion during the morning office break centered around a film star’s decision to abandon a successful career to enter a convent. Of all the people in the group, Betty had definitely searched for happiness in the most places. She had been an exotic dancer performing on nightclub stages with film and TV stars.

Her comment caught my attention. As a believer, who had found that elusive “something,” I recognized that Betty was a searcher. From that day on I prayed for her and made a special effort to befriend her. Although Betty and I had differing beliefs and lifestyles, we became close friends.

During another office-break discussion, Betty firmly proclaimed, “I’m an agnostic! I don’t think you can know that God exists.” One day, though, when we were alone, Betty said quietly, “I know God exists. When I was about four years old, I had a pet chicken that got sick. My pet was dying and I prayed to God to save it. That chicken recovered.” She paused and quietly said again, “I know God exists.”

God uses many ways to  plant  seeds of faith to draw us to him and encourage us to place our trust in him. The seeds may lie dormant for years. We may cultivate the seeds or we may ignore them, but we cannot deny their existence.

Years after I had moved thousands of miles away from Betty, I received a letter from her. “You may be shocked,” she said, “but I’ve given my life to Christ and I even teach a Sunday School class.” It’s never too late for a dormant seed to sprout and come alive.

Martha Hawn VanCise©