As you regulars know, I’ve been planting things like crazy lately, and getting the biggest kick out of the whole messy process! My tomato stand arrived, and it’s all put together, ready for two tomato plants and a zuchinni start–according to local gardening wisdom, it’s safe to plant on Friday, with all danger of frost hopefully behind us, and I can hardly to wait to start my upside-down vegetable growing career. 🙂
I planted two zuchinni seeds in an aluminum can about a week and a half ago, and waited breathlessly for the shoot to break ground. Since the plants are in a sunny window in my kitchen, in direct view of the place I sit to write my Morning Pages and journal my prayers, I suppose it was inevitable that a simple but profound insight would eventually come.
It did. It occurred to me that while the surface of that dirt didn’t change for days, that didn’t mean nothing was happening underneath! From there it was easy to spot the correlation; lots of times, our hopes, dreams and goals are like that. We’ve planted a mental seed, a prayer or an intention or a desire, and we watch for it to sprout, eagerly at first. Nothing changes, or so it seems, because we don’t have x-ray vision, and we may start to lose interest. We are conditioned to expect instant gratification, what with all the technological advances we enjoy, but the truth is that all of nature, from galaxies to the humblest seeds scattered by the wind, works by PROCESSES.
It makes sense to me that spiritual ‘soil’ functions in the same way. We plant a seed, and the magic begins–usually a SLOW magic. The Bible says there is a season for every purpose under heaven–seed-time and harvest. Let’s try keeping the faith in between, shall we? Let’s weed and water, but not hover, trying to will something to happen.
Plant something today. Tend the soil with prayer and calm faith. Pull up the weeds (negative thoughts, doubts, etc.), and water with the knowledge that the universe is a place of staggering abundance. Most of all, have patience.
Although I’ve had a lot of quick answers to prayers, for the most part, God doesn’t seem to be into Instant Messaging. 🙂 He doesn’t text.
But when a seed is planted in good soil, it GROWS.
Think about it.
