Once Upon a Lifetime series unfolds the semblance of the tiny mustard seed when its meaning becomes the inspiration and driving force in Jill's life. So what does it mean?

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Just the Facts

• Mustard seeds are the small round seeds of a variety of mustard plants.

• The yellow to black seeds are 1 to 2 millimeters (0.039 to 0.079 in) in diameter.

• Mustard plants mature to between 6 and 20 feet tall with a 20-foot width.

• In ideal conditions, plants can reach 30 feet tall.

• Mustard seeds produce a pungent spice used around the world.

• Seeds of its plant are rich sources of calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, folate, and vitamin A.

• The leaves of mustard plants make a tasty side dish.

 

​Add the Faith

• “You of little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” - Matthew 17:20

• “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field. Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” - Matthew 13:31-32

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​Now the Book

Jill's father gave her the necklace when she was nine years old. There was no meaning conveyed at the time, but her father planted the seed that would change Jill's life in ways he couldn't imagine. Though he was a quiet man, maybe he understood more about his passionate daughter than anyone realized.

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The necklace spent most of its time in Jill's jewelry box until much later in her life. In fact, she didn't pay it much attention until one uneasy night when she reached for it to find it tangled in a ball of cheap costume jewelry. Hour upon hour, as she slowly unraveled the necklace from its bounds...it was then that she realized it would take another lifetime to unravel her troubled life.

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Gazing at the humble yellow mustard seed encased in the small glass globe, Jill wondered why her father chose this necklace to give her, so many years ago. But it didn't take her long to figure it out. In her desperation, Jill witnessed her faith in everything, slip right through her fingers. And she simply didn't know what to do. She held the necklace higher and stared at the tiny seed. 

 

Then she knew...at that exact moment in her life, why her Father's gift was so appropriate...so right. For the first time in a long time, Jill felt a tiny spark of hope in her heart.

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Is this what Jill needed for her life? What she'd looked for all along? Was this tiny necklace the answer to her salvation? She doubted its power, but really...what did she have to lose?

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Jill wanted to believe...in love...in hope...in redemption. And in her mustard seed. Actually, she had no choice. Jill had to believe since she had nothing else to hold on to.

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Call it what you will...the Universe. Karma. Call it...God...Love...Truth. Jill chose God. She was an old soul...a traditionalist, raised in an old fashioned family. Her mustard seed necklace represented, not only the memory of her beloved Father but the hope and belief in herself to move beyond what life had dealt her. But, would it be enough?