By Ann Farabee

I could barely hear her as she whispered the words, “It is so small.” She looked at me to confirm the importance of what she held in her hand. I felt a “God moment” surrounding us, as my conversation with the six year old continued. I sensed the awe she felt — and knew the Holy Spirit was at work in both our hearts.

We were in the children’s ministry classroom at our church, surrounded by other students, but this moment was just for the two of us.  She looked intently toward me for a response. I placed my hand on top of hers and confirmed in a whisper, “It is small, isn’t it?” The tears began to well up in my eyes as I continued, “But it is all you need.”

For a fleeting second, with her hand and my hand covering that tiny mustard seed, my mind traveled back to that night in a school auditorium, where as a twelve year old, I too, had been given a “mustard seed moment” in which to discover faith.

My mother had helped me prepare daily for a spelling bee, where I would compete against students from around 40 schools. On the day of the event, nervousness had overtaken me. I was not even confident about spelling my name — Ann. (Just kidding.)

Right before the competition began, my mother placed a mustard seed in my hand, as she said, “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, nothing will be impossible.” I was amazed at how small that mustard seed was… and at how big those words from Matthew 17:20 were — and would become — in that moment and in the days and years to come in my life.

That mustard seed was so small.

Was it really all the faith I needed?

Yes.

Decades later, after teaching ‘mustard seed faith’ lessons to children many times, is it still all the faith they need in today’s world?

The answer is still, “Yes.”

It is a joy to see a seed of faith take root in the hearts of our children, but that seed of faith is not only available for our children, but is also available for each of us.

The seed is all we need.

Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker. Contact her at  annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.