Spring, with its gentle breezes and blossoming landscapes, brings an undeniable sense of renewal in the air and beckons us to embrace the season of growth and new beginnings. But in Texas, where the past few months have been unusually rainy, the path to cultivating a vibrant garden hasn't been without its challenges.
Let me share that story with you:
Imagine an eager and enthusiastic gardener, loaded up with seeds of hope and dreams of a flourishing garden.
She goes out to till the soil ( a generous term for the small amount of hacking an average gardener does to break up the dirt and pull out the weeds). Eagerly sowing the seeds of possibility. Yet, the relentless rain threatens to drown her aspirations, turning the fertile ground into a muddy obstacle course. Despite the setbacks, the gardener perseveres, patiently trying again until the sun once again graces the earth with its warmth.
Well, that’s what’s been going on. Both in my garden, and in my personal life. I’ve had my head down, working voraciously to create and grow. I’ve also tried to keep my eyes up, not so focused on the muck I’m working through now, but on where it’s all going.
Enough about me. Here’s why it matters:
It’s really all about timing and finding what works for you. Did you try sowing early in little milk-jug green houses, nothing. Did you try sowing in seed trays on the windowsill only to have them either dry out or breed fungus gnats and mildew. Did you try sowing in trays outside just to have them repeatedly washed completely clean by the over-flowing gutters? *facepalm* All those “proven methods” and none of them worked. But the seeds tossed about in the flowerbeds only half-way prepared? Well, some of them sprouted and came up! Sometimes the best way is to sprinkle entirely more than necessary, let go of the outcome and let nature run its course. Just keep planting and eventually the timing and conditions will be right and you’ll be rewarded with growth.
It’s a matter of endurance and persevering. There’s no shortcut to learning this. You learn endurance by, well, enduring. If you are in a season of enduring, this is my note of encouragement to you- I found it in Hebrews 11 and 12. God says in all sorts of different ways- DON’T GIVE UP. KEEP GOING.
If you’re in the sunny sunshine of summer right now (which by the looks of the forecast is finally HERE) then here are some ideas to send in notes of encouragement to someone who IS in the slog:
When it feels like it’s taking forever remember:
Noah persevered in building the ark for 75-100 YEARS! That is a LOT of staying power.
When it feels like you don’t know where you’re going remember:
Abraham was a great man of faith and he had no idea where he was going either. He simply obeyed the call when he was told to “go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Hebrews. 11:8 You don’t have to know exactly where you’re going or have the whole plan mapped out, just keep putting one foot in front of the other like Abraham. Life is like stepping stones across a river. You focus on the next stepping stone and when you’ve landed on that one, the next stone will appear.
When it feels like you’re slogging through the mud or your work keeps getting washed out remember:
The rain is necessary, even if it’s a gully-washer. It softens the soil so roots can push deeper. It simultaneously challenges growth AND provides what is needed. So too the struggle softens you and provide opportunity to grow.
Seek support and community during challenging times. Hebrews 12:1 says “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us RUN WITH ENDURANCE the race that is set before us, LOOKING TO JESUS, ...who for the joy set before HIM endured the cross... CONSIDER him who ENDURED ...SO THAT YOU MAY NOT GROW WEARY OR FAINTHEARTED.” (Emphasis mine)
Whether it's reaching out to friends and loved ones for encouragement or relying on the stories of those who have endured before us, WE DON’T HAVE TO WEATHER THE STORMS ALONE. Looking to Jesus, we can be reassured by his example that he’s got us and we can find peace in the midst of uncertainty.
In times of enduring, also remember that just like the summer, the next season is coming. Time IS passing and so will whatever you are going through.
Like the gardener who tends to their garden despite the rain; digging trenches and starting over (and over and over), keep nurturing your dreams and aspirations, even when the forecast seems contrary. SUMMER IS COMING, and Now IS HERE.