In Truer Ink: Niki Turner: Home and Garden

G is for Growth

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Growth is the most natural thing in the world. Plants grow (especially weeds), children grow (faster than we think), minds grow (if properly stimulated), faith grows (as we feed on God's word), and so on. Much growth, maybe most growth, occurs in the unseen realms—seeds sprout below the soil, babies grow in the womb, faith grows in the spirit, knowledge and wisdom grow in the mind and soul.

Last month I planted my vegetable garden. The first month or two of a garden project is excruciating for me. Will it fail? Will all the work I've put in to this patch of dirt be completely fruitless? What if the seeds are duds? Why are the weeds growing faster than the seeds? (Perhaps we should be eating the weeds.)

My "fairy" garden.

Most everything has sprouted now, and I've filled in some of the blank spaces where seeds simply disappeared ... eaten or washed away, who knows? The urge over the last month to dig in the dirt to check on the seeds that hadn't sprouted yet was strong. I resisted.
Mostly. It seems that "helping" things grow is not helpful at all.

Artificial aid in the natural process

results in weakness and deformity.

Knee-high on the 4th of July.
If you're a Barbie doll.

Move a little dirt to let that bean sprout come up and it gets too much sunlight and dies. Pick that dry seed shell off the squash sprout and the leaves never quite finish maturing, leaving the plant weak and pale.

I should know better. Somewhere I read a story about someone who tried to help a butterfly that was struggling to come out of its chrysalis. The butterfly died. The same is true for baby chicks coming out of their shells. The process—exhausting, painful, and difficult as it appears—is critical for healthy growth and maturity ... and not just for butterflies and bean sprouts.

Lettuce on June 12

How often do I jump into situations to rescue my children when they really need to work it through on their own? (For the record, I have done all of these things at least once.)

Not letting an infant fuss and cry while he or she learns how to roll over, or pull up (or sit back down), or crawl or walk, or tie her shoes, or put on his own clothes.
Serving as a live wake-up call for children who are old enough to set their own alarm clocks so they won't suffer the consequences of being late to school, work, or church.
Finishing a science project, 4-H craft, or other assignment for him or her because they are "too tired" or it's "too hard."
Selling the Girl Scout cookies, chocolate bars, or whatever, yourself, so your child won't "feel like a failure."
Intervening in minor disagreements with your kids and their friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. because you "just don't want them to get hurt."

Lettuce on July 4

Even worse, how often do I run around looking for someone to bail me out of uncomfortable, difficult, or downright unpleasant situations? Instead of asking for grace to grow, I start looking for the quick fix and the easy way out.

The winning lottery ticket instead of trimming the budget.
The magic fat-burning elixir instead of the boring diet and exercise plan.
The one, particular miracle church service instead of the read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year, Scripture-memorization, time-on-your-knees-in-prayer program.

(Please don't misunderstand me... there are situations in which "assisted growth" can be necessary, appropriate, or an answer to prayer. It is not, however, conducive for long-term growth and healthy development.)

We have become a culture that despises the process. We want prepackaged, prearranged, prefabricated, pre-appointed everything.We don't want steps, stages, or "some assembly required." We want results. Immediately. Now. Yesterday. That mindset has made us much, much weaker physically, mentally, and emotionally than our pioneering forefathers.

New seasons of life always require growth and change—internal, external, or both. Let's determine to accept the processes that new growth requires, not with a hangdog face and sour attitude, but with joy and anticipation. We're going to have to "go through" sooner or later, if we want to have enough strength to stand and fly when we get to the other side!

A quick shout-out to Patty Wysong for coming up with this terrific meme! For more "From a2z4u & Me" posts, click the picture below.

Gardening and self-doubt

Monday, June 13, 2011

Seed Faith

Friday, April 15, 2011

I planted part of my vegetable garden this week. Planting outdoors won't be kosher until June or so.

I'm an on again, off again kind of gardener. A few years ago I tried a "tire garden." The weeds grew exceptionally well between the tires, but what I planted in the tires must have been delicious, as the deer and local vegan wildlife devoured everything as it sprouted.

This year I'm "putting my hand to the plow" once again. Not in the tires this time, back in the dirt.

Whenever I sit down with dirt and seeds, whether inside or outside, I'm awed by the relationship between seeds, planting, and faith.

Seeds are silly looking. They don't resemble their fruit in any way. They are dry and tiny. Just putting them in the dirt and believing they will produce something -- anything -- is an act of faith.

37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body 1 Cor 15:37-38 (from New International Version)

Maybe that's why Jesus spent so much time talking about seeds and planting and growing things. The analogy provides a perfect picture of what it means to believe and receive from God.

"Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience." Luke 8:11-15 NKJV

I'm an on again, off again kind of gardener, but planting never fails to remind me of the apparent craziness of faith in God and His word. I drop the bean, or the beet, or the lettuce seed into the dirt, bury it, and wait. And wait, and wait some more. Even when the first sprouts emerge from the soil, they still look nothing like the fruit which I seek. I keep waiting, and if I do my part, and circumstances cooperate, eventually those seeds will bring forth more of their own kind.

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Gal 6:7-10 (from New International Version)

What have you sown toward the spirit recently? Have you seen that seed bear fruit yet?

Filters, filters, everywhere

Friday, August 14, 2009

Image via Wikipedia

Seriously, there are filters all around us but we rarely think about them until they malfunction. Coffee makers need a filter. Vacuums now have filters. Furnaces require filters, as do air conditioners and water purifiers. A clogged filter will shut down your automobile right in the middle of the street. Last week a friend found out her car was gasping for air because of a dirty air filter. Filtering face masks let air through but keep out chemicals, pollutants, even germs.
But the one place we really NEED a filter and rarely make use of one is on our souls. The human soul is made of of the mind, will, and emotions. Together with your spirit and body, we use the soul to express ourselves.
Proverbs chapter 4 says we are to guard our hearts, for from the heart (soul) spring the issues of life. Do you have "issues" you'd rather not have? Maybe you've got a filter problem.
You might call your filters a paradigm, a worldview, or just the way you perceive life on this big blue marble. Filters are a compilation of experience and information, and they affect our present circumstances and our future. Bad information, or experiences, leave us with fouled filters.
Let's say as a child you were frequently condemned as "stupid" and and that negative input was reinforced by say, difficulty in school. Now, as an adult, barring some experience plus information that changed your paradigm, you probably have a "stupid" filter. You might be the next Einstein, but you refuse to crack open a textbook because your "stupid" filter blocks all possibilities that you might be smart enough to understand it. Conversely, any information that verifies your "stupid" belief will pass right through your "stupid" filter, into your life, and affect your future behavior and choices.
The soul's motto could be put like this: "I think, I want, I feel." You need a filter on your thinker, which comes from receiving accurate information. In today's world, we have to dig for accurate information. Don't just mentally download everything that comes along as truth! Some truth is obvious. Other truth is hidden under piles of misinformation and human opinion.
Your willpower filter can be difficult to change if you don't change the thinking filter first. Why? Because what you think about has a direct effect on what you want. If you think about something long enough, you're probably going to end up wanting and pursuing that thing. Don't believe me? Start thinking about donuts. Keep thinking about them. Think about how they smell, how they feel in your fingers, the taste of them melting in your mouth. Close your eyes and imagine the best donut you ever ate... It was probably a Krispy Kreme, huh? OK, so now you probably want a donut. At the very least, your mouth is probably watering! (Your body follows your thoughts, too!) Sometimes I'm glad I live many miles and several hours from the nearest Krispy Kreme or Dunkin' Donuts!
The "feelings" filter is also directly affected by the thinking filter. It irritates me when people say, "I just can't change how I feel." That's a lie. They change how they feel all the time! What they MEAN to say is, "I don't WANT to change how I feel." But in most cases, it would sound incredibly rude and selfish to say such a thing, so we say, "I can't" instead. Here's a classic: Watch soap operas about lying, cheating, fickle husbands all day. Think about how wretched and horrid they are. Play it over in your mind how you would react in your favorite character's shoes. Keep this up until your poor, unsuspecting spouse wanders through the door after work, five minutes late and without the milk you asked him to pick up at the store. Guess where your feelings are? Not where they are supposed to be! They followed your thoughts!
Right now I'm struggling with other people's filters. It seems someone is always wanting to stick their filter on my life. And then they wonder why it doesn't fit, and I wonder why I have weird "issues" (see above note on Prov. 4).
Instead of running around testing out other people's filters, I need to go directly to my Manufacturer - God - when I start to feel sluggish and clogged up, or confused and distressed, or angry and discouraged. And when I get those thinking, wanting, and feeling filters switched out for new ones that aren't tainted by offense, fear, or self-pity, it's like a breath of fresh air. A new way of thinking, whether on the job, with my family, or personally, will give me a new lease on life and improve my performance in every area!
Here's to fresh filters today!