June 18, 2018
Watching Growth
Have you ever watched bread dough rise? It takes FOREVER!
Have you ever planted a seed or set out a new plant in your garden? You sometimes don’t see the slow growth – sometimes you don’t notice until, “Oh, wow, there’s a red tomato on that bush!” The plant was watered, de-bugged, and looked after for about 100 days but never really watched.
I planted my elephant ears in spring… now they are taller than me!
Our baby chicks were cute little fluffs of fur, totally dependent on us to keep them safe, feed, and water them. Now, they are nine weeks old. Fully feathered, they look like miniature adults. They don’t need us to pamper them and hide them from the rain or help regulate their body temperature; just some food, water, and a cat-proof shelter is fine.
My oldest daughter is almost considered by the state to be old enough to command a 1-ton vehicle! I still see her as the tiny bundled angel in the picture on my wall. Of course, I literally see that she’s grown. Sometimes she doesn’t see it.
Sometimes I don’t see my own growth.
God is always working on us. Since none of us are dead, we are still improving. Sometimes we get frustrated at ourselves because we don’t see any growth. Maybe instead of imagining ourselves as rising bread, we should think of ourselves as growing plants. Maybe not elephant ears – okay, sometimes we do grow quickly. But with some things we are like the White Cedar (growing about 6 inches per year) or the Saguaro cactus (gets only one to two inches tall in the first 10 years!)
Sometimes slow growth is hard to see.
A wise man plants trees under whose shade he will never sit.
Wow, that thought says to me that those who choose to invest in long-term growth are wise. So rather than expect instant results when I’m allowing God to work on my life, I understand that sometimes tiny steps in the right direction eventually lead to the finished product. I will choose not to be frustrated with myself for not being a fast enough learner; I will choose to rest in His care and allow time for growth.
Thanks for reading!
Type at you later…
~Nancy Tart