I have a feeling this post will be a ‘part one’ in a series… this, of course, remains to be seen but it is worth giving you a fair warning… just incase. Also this post is dedicated to my friend Kara because she literally keeps a bottle of ‘Everything But the Bagel’ seasoning in her car and eats it directly off her hand… no joke… it is (only a little) gross and also my favorite thing about her.
MOVING ON
Drew and I were sitting at breakfast the other morning, doing our ‘weekly check in’ when we began to talk about the ideas, beliefs, and feelings we ‘plant’ in our lives and, therefore, into the lives of others.
First, allow me to address the elephant in the room. Yes, we have a ‘weekly check in’ … which sounds like a term Brené Brown (love you girl… woman?… human? what are we allowed to say now?) would use to describe a feel good staff meeting with vulnerability at its core… and it kind of is. We go over how the week went- what went well? what didn’t and why. What are we proud of? What do we wish we had done better? Where can we grow? Where do we need to let go? How would we rate the week? What is coming up next week? Who do we want to be spending time with? Who should we reach out to? So on and so forth. It is a way to look at time a little more intentionally. Life goes by so quickly these days and I find myself sitting on my sofa in mid-August remembering this time LAST YEAR like it was yesterday! I mean… I now understand why my cousins could never tell me their actual age, it wasn’t that they wanted to be 29 forever, it was that years were passing too quickly and they couldn’t keep track of time (this of course was totally unfathomable to my tiny human mind… age is basically a super power when you are little… like turning ‘double-digits’ is everything). Regardless, I highly encourage you to get in the habit of a ‘weekly check-in’ even if it is with yourself. It can be uncomfortable and convicting, illuminating and inspiring- try it out and let me know what you think!
Ok, so back to why we are all here- GARDENING… Jk… Kind of.
There is a parable in Matthew 13:3-8 where Jesus talks about seeds and soil. It says-
”A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
As Drew and I sat at the table talking this story took on a whole new meaning for me and I began to wonder… What if I am the sower and not just the seed? if I am a sower, what am I sowing and where is it landing, how is it growing? What are the seeds I am choosing to spread? Am I intentional about the soil I am sowing into? Because its really easy to say things… and assume they are true… speak about them like you know what you are talking about and convince others that the ‘seeds’ of knowledge you have are good. It is also really easy to sow into the wrong soil (you know, like that person in your life you are convinced you can fix/change etc…). The question becomes, what are you planting into the hearts and minds of others? What is planted in your heart and your mind? I reckon, if we are honest with ourselves, we need to do a little weeding, a little pruning, and, maybe, be a bit more careful in our seed and soil selection.
When I was growing up I always heard sermons saying that we are the seeds and it is about where we are planted and how we will grow… which I 1000% agree with… the ‘soil’ we plant ourselves into is essential to how we will grow… BUT I loved how God showed me that we are also the ‘sower' of the seeds. If you are a theologian please know that a)I am not one and b) I’m not trying to take this passage out of context, I am simply seeing it with a new lens.
I want to spend some time around this idea of seeds… the seeds of our thoughts…the seeds of our actions…the seeds of our feelings and emotions…the seeds of our finances (ouch!)…the seeds we bury too deep within ourselves or keep stored away because we don’t want to ‘waste’ them. Basically, what I’m really trying to say is- our lives are like a bottle of ‘Everything But the Bagel’ seasoning, and if we seek wisdom, the sprinkling of our thoughts, words, finances and actions in others lives will add so much delicious flavor it will keep them coming back for more!
xx
