Ducks, Duck Ponds, and Return on Investment

By Mazzy Adams

One of the delights spread abroad by the Lord in recent times has been the proliferation of church services now livestreamed, many of them made available for later viewing. It’s possible to binge watch church in your lounge room 24/7. I’ve been incredibly blessed while partaking of this abundant feast. 

I wonder if the streamers realise how many people they’re blessing. Last Sunday, I shared communion with a worldwide fellowship of believers. As I broke my piece of communion ‘bread’ (a gluten free seeds and grains cracker), the Holy Spirit whispered, 

“Cast your bread upon the waters and after many days it will return to you.” 

I jotted the words down so I could consider them later. What did I think of? This:

Image copyright Catie Jay Sercombe. Used by permission. 

Our family’s favourite picnic spot when our children were young—the duck pond at Lake Annand Park, Toowoomba. It’s changed a bit since those days—the old bridge has been replaced, the lake and islands have been upgraded to incorporate flood mitigation aspects, and the playground is now a modernised safe environment for children. 

But the ducks are still there, and children still cast pieces of bread upon the waters, and the ducks still come running to partake of those soggy morsels, and children still shriek with delight as they do.

Last year, before our eldest son and his family cast their hopes (and themselves) abroad to live overseas in obedience to God’s leading, our whole clan gathered for a barbecue at the duck pond. As my beloved and I watched our grandchildren at play, (and feeding a new generation of ducks), we revelled in the blessed return on the efforts and energy we expended raising our children.

In essence, The Preacher’s words recorded in Ecclesiastes 11:1 reflect the words I jotted down, though translations differ as this Biblehub search reveals. The myriad renderings include:

CEV: Be generous, and someday you will be rewarded.

AMP: Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, [be diligently active, make thoughtful decisions], for you will find it after many days.

ISV: Spread your bread on the water—after a while you will find it.

NIV: Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return.

NLT: Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.

GNT: Invest your money in foreign trade, and one of these days you will make a profit.

A little research into the cultural understanding of King Solomon’s day reveals three main ideas, interpretations, and principles drive these variations. Each holds wisdom and encouragement for believers and writers. They work together to remind us not to be discouraged or give up when we don’t see an immediate or obvious return for all our efforts. 

1. Practice generosity.

Giving generously of our time, energy, enthusiasm, directed endeavours, capital, wisdom, knowledge, and experience with due diligence and without expectation of return opens a channel of blessing that often surprises and delights us in due season.

Back in December 2020, my sisters and I received a request from the church my family attended when I was a toddler. They were seeking photos for inclusion in a book and history display for their centenary celebrations in June 2021. While my eldest sister has excellent memories of people and places from that time, as the youngest sibling, I’m keeper of the extensive collection of photos and slides taken by my father who was a keen photographer. 

Though it was a joy to honour our father through this legacy, and to honour the faithful ongoing ministry of that church, searching, scanning, mending and transforming relevant images into suitable quality for print, exchanging dozens of emails with my sister who lives in another state, and writing and collating information and memories took hundreds of hours. At the time, we had no idea which, if any, of the images would be used, nor whether either of us would be able to attend the celebrations.

But God … God worked in marvellous ways.

My sister and I and several other family members were able to attend whilst enjoying a lovely couple of days at the beach together. Several of the images and memories we provided were included in the book. ALL of the images, memories, and testimonies of God’s goodness we provided were utilised in the history display which remains open to the public for a month. 

My sister met folk who, like me, had attended the Sunday School class she’d taught over half a century ago—once children perpetually captured in a photo she’d taken with a box brownie camera—now adults who love and serve the Lord with all their hearts. Seed she had cast upon the waters as a teenager had fed children hungry for the love of God and resulted in a bountiful harvest.

For me, perhaps the defining moment attesting to this principle from Ecclesiastes 11:1 came when the lady who had first suggested they create a book said to me, ‘When your photos and stories started to roll in, the whole team got excited, believing we could do this.’ 

Not only is there a blessing which returns to those who cast their bread, or seed, or efforts, or words upon the waters of God-given opportunity, there’s a flow-on of blessing to a potential ocean of others.     

2. Consider diversifying your marketing efforts and options.

Back in Solomon’s time, if farmers could not sell all their produce locally, they would send it overseas on consignment. The wisest would divide their grain (produce) between ships, sending it to many distant ports in the hope that some, if not all, would be purchased, providing a return. This focus explains why some translations use the words ‘ship’, ‘send’, ‘invest’, and ‘spread’.

Words can travel across oceans. Borders might be closed to bodies, but not to words. 

As much as we writers may baulk at the thought, this interpretation supports and confirms the wisdom of diversifying our marketing endeavours. It also encourages thoughtful planning, diligence, optimism, patience, and trust when waiting for sales and results.

3. Take advantage of God-given opportunities and seasons.

This interpretation derives from the agricultural practice of sowing seed during times of flood; the seed cast upon the water settles to the soil below. When the waters recede, it sprouts in the flood-enriched soil which has been replenished with nutrients. The idea is especially reflected in the words ‘cast’ and ‘spread’. 

Coconut seeds cast upon the ocean can float a long way before they reach the shore and take root. Even seed dropped or dispersed by the wind during times of drought sprouts into life after flood waters pass over. 

Hmm … a writer’s efforts are often spread thin when the idiom, “It never rains but it pours” reflects real life. I’m challenged by this thought even as I write it, given the number of times I’ve pressed pause on my writing/publishing activities till after the ‘flood’ subsides. Or been frustrated by a drought of inspiration and enthusiasm. What about you?

There is another aspect to seed that sprouts after it’s been immersed in water; just as baptism symbolises death and resurrection, it is when we surrender all, cast our bread, our seed, our hopes, ourselves upon the waters of God’s grace and mercy, that his eternal promises and resurrection life return to us, and us to him. 

And remember, the one who inspired The Preacher to pen Ecclesiastes 11:1 also inspired the Apostle Peter to write, “Cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

How or where has God challenged you to cast your bread? Have you experienced an unexpected return on investment or activity that exemplifies the truths in Ecclesiastes 11:1? I’d love to hear about it. 

Mazzy Adams is a published author of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. She has a passion for words, pictures, and the positive potential in people. 

Website: www.mazzyadams.com

Email: maz@mazzyadams.com

The Ghost of Christmas Past

Original artwork by Melinda Jensen

2016 has been a tough year, both here in Australia and throughout the globe. Wars and the inevitable atrocities that accompany them, are escalating. Americans too, must be feeling the winds of change acutely – some distressed by the presidential election results and others by the conflict and worldwide criticism that have ensued in the wake of their political choice. It's a situation that leaves the global community divided and fearful.

Only one thing seems certain. Emotions are high. We all tend to become further entrenched in our positions during times of high stress, desperate to either flee or fight. Fear becomes our sole motivation. Yet, at times of great turmoil it's both far more important and far more difficult to hold tight to God and follow His lead.

I have heard many stories of woe and heartache during the past year, clothed in robes of bitterness, anger, sorrow and fear. People are turning on each other, unashamedly claiming to not care about what happens to others beyond their shores, or even their own neighbourhoods. I was shocked to learn that some of my overseas friends feel this way about Australia, and therefore me and mine. Disturbingly, I have heard the harshest judgements from fellow Christians who seem to feel more than justified in turning away the needy and allowing the less fortunate to go hungry and homeless. I can only wonder at how much this grieves the Father's heart.

Enchanted by (or is it morbidly fascinated with) Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' since I was a child, I find myself ruminating about its metaphors and wondering if the world is currently 'stuck', like the bah-humbug Ebenezer Scrooge before he meets the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.

How would most of us fare if visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, the first eerie visitor to Scrooge's miserly hearth right before Christmas?

This angelic spirit, as I prefer to think of it, shows Scrooge scenes from his past that occurred around Christmas-time, to demonstrate the necessity of changing his ways, as well as to show the reader how Scrooge came to be so bitter and cold-hearted. The lesson here, of course, is that none of us are born this way. Life is often cruel, just as it was for the young Ebenezer, who grew up, devoid of real love in a miserable boarding school, abandoned by his father.

As the years went by, he faced many hardships of the kind almost bound to break his heart and alienate him from his fellow human beings. And yet, life is not all about circumstance.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/Stuart Miles

As I've entered my fifties I've realized that very few people live a charmed life, and most of us have stories of heartache that helped shape who we are. When I look around me I see those who have grown through these experiences into more compassionate and aware human beings; and of course, I see those who've hardened their hearts, determined to look out for number one and only number one.

There is always the element of choice. The ghost of Christmas past doesn't linger on a sense of blame, despite relentlessly bringing painful scenes before the hapless Scrooge. Instead, he largely allows Scrooge to relive the painful memories he's so successfully snuffed out over the years. Without bringing those memories to the fore, none of us can hope to understand why we are the way we are; nor are we able to effect personal change and lay to rest any attitudes of resentment, fear and bitterness, the very attributes that are running rampant on today's world stage.

As Christians, we don't need to believe in, or encounter, ghosts. We have our very own, accessible and willing, supernatural God, ready to lead us gently on a tour of our painful pasts and re-establish His heart within us. That heart knows no bounds when it comes to compassion, empathy, generosity, kindness and acceptance. It is tireless in taking in the world's orphans and widows, the wounded and homeless, the desperate and starving, the lonely and heartbroken. He gives no heed to the colour of our skin or what part of the world we come from, but he does care what he finds deep in our hearts. Let's not disappoint Him in the coming year. Let's pray for a world-wide epiphany, a global 'Ebenezer Scrooge aha! Moment.'

by Melinda Jensen

www.killingmesoftly.co

Melinda follows Jesus as closely as she can, learning every day. Passionate about social justice, equality, the environment and mostly, discerning and activating her purpose according to who she is in Christ. She has had a humble number of short stories and poems published, in print and on the web; and is working on a couple of short stories for young people. She kids herself she might one day be able to do her own illustrations.