The parable of this counselor

I love what I do. I love to talk about it. I have passion in my heart for the children whose lives I work to change and I can tell you exactly why I began this work and why I continue to do it, despite the trials it brings in my own life and the struggles I watch others face.
Yet I find that in the midst of my work, I lose my fervor as I drive along, day to day, house to house. I grow weary of the evils I witness (like child abuse) and also fall victim to my own selfish desires (like getting off work at a decent hour). All of these things creep in and blind me of that passion. The briars grow up in my eyes and the thorns poke me til the tears come.
So occasionally I do my job half-heartedly and accomplish very little, minus a good release of wet emotion. But I guarantee you if someone comes along and asks me what I do for a living, I can answer them in no less than a 10 minute spill on what I do and why I do it and not with false earnesty.
And so I end up with beautiful, meaningful, moving words about my passion; and dead, impactless work.
What kind of soil does that make me?

Regrettably, I find my relationship with the Lord mirroring the path my career has taken. It's so easy sometimes to tell our testimony -- to recount the story of how we came to know Christ, and how we fell in love with Him in the beginning. Of course I know why I loved God in the first place! He rescued me from the sin I was in and gave me what no one else could!!
But can I, today, say that that same passion continues to burn inside me? Or am I a smoldering pile of coal and ashes that can't even light dry thorns and briars on fire?!

Rev 2:3-5 Warns us to turn back to that initial passion. To not forget how and why we loved Jesus in the beginning of our new lives with Him.
I love this verse and think of it often when I am struggling with my relationship with God because it brings me back to the first days when I knew Him, just after meeting Him.

I still remember my friend, Lalo, in Mexico giving a sermon in which he reminded us that if you do not continue to sufficiently feed yourself with God's Word, your fire will die out. We must tend to the coals to continue the flame.

*****

And still one of the most intriguing things I find here is that Jesus used the parable of the sower as an illustration the people could relate to very long ago.
Presently and for me, He used the illustration of my job to relate to my relationship with Him. Funny how He still teaches us in parables, don't you think?

What parables is Jesus using in your life to open up your eyes to His teaching? Remember that He speaks to us not only in His Word.