I am personally working on a few different things currently between propagating my Spider Plant so that I can start growing new ones from the mother plant, working on getting my sourdough starter up and strengthened and ready to use (I named it Ronnie Breadke), and then growing in my discipline with studying my bible and deepening my understanding of God and His Word. Now keep in mind I work full time (when my chronic migraines allow me to), I have a household to keep up, animals to tend to, I am a wife and I have to be intentional with making sure I don't put my marriage on a back burner, I serve at church and try my very best to never say no when we are asked to help with something, I have friends that I show up for... when I take a step back and look at my plate, it is overflowing more often than not. I would be lying if I said that it doesn't overwhelm me sometimes, but at one point I prayed for a busy and fulfilling life, and I am living that answered prayer right now. It would be silly to not be grateful for all the things I get to do, so I am working hard on trying to keep my attitude in check and make sure that I am not being selfish with what I have been given.
Some days are easier than others, and lately I do feel as if I am having more tough days than anything else. But that is exactly why it is so important that I stay in the Word. If I slack off in spending time with God, I am more likely to believe any lie that the enemy throws my way. I become easily angered and frustrated, and I lose sight of the bigger picture. God never did promise that our lives here on earth would be sunshine and rainbows, in fact He confirmed that in this world we would have trouble. So let's talk a little more in depth on a few of these things I am growing, shall we?
I have previously talked about my plants, so you know just how much I care for each of them and the joy they bring me. My mother spider plant that has started producing a TON of little Spiderettes has started to get weighed down by a lot of them, so I figured I would go ahead and clip a few of them off so I could get them potted and allow them to finally start being independent little ladies. This takes time, effort, patience, and care. I need to make sure that I am clipping them off in the best places, so as not to cause harm to the mother plant OR the baby, and I need to make sure that the ones I am taking have air roots that will help them survive in soil (or water) once they are removed from the mother plant. If I take one that does not have air roots, it will most likely not survive being cut off and it will die, no matter that it gets placed in a pot of soil or a bowl of water, because it will not have the anchor in which they depend on for hydration and nutrients being delivered. Now I can view this from a scientific standpoint and move on, OR I can tie scripture in and help apply this to my walk with Christ - and I choose the latter.
Church in this context is going to be the mother plant. Church helps to provide me with community, accountability, congregational worship, and I get to hear what the Lord is speaking through our Pastor (I am learning and being given direction). If I get cut off from church and I am not rooted in the Word of God, I won't fair too well on my own. So it is up to me to make sure that I am being fed more than just one day a week. I need to be eating every single day, sometimes multiple times a day if it's an especially hard day. By reading, studying, and learning how to understand my bible, I am growing roots. Those roots are going to anchor my life in Christ and help provide a sturdy foundation in my faith and those roots are what will help me be able to grow on my own. Corporate learning is important, but knowing how to study and spending time with the Lord on my own is crucial. How can I learn about someone if I never spend time with them and put in the effort to understand? I can't. So when taking care of these baby plants, I am reminded to make sure my roots are deep and they are getting the nutrients needed in order to thrive.
Now to give Ronnie Breadke his moment in the spotlight. I chose to make a sourdough starter from scratch, and there is a LOT in this process that I can look at through a biblical lens; Just as flour and water combine to host airborne yeast, our spiritual lives require daily feeding with the Word and the Holy Spirit. It teaches deep lessons about patience, community, and the slow, transformative work of faith in a fast-paced world. Sourdough cannot be rushed and there are several things that have to happen in order for it to become strong and active and eventually be ready to use.
The parable of the Leaven provides an illustration on how the Kingdom starts small but possesses the power to spread and transform the world from the inside out. Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to yeast that a woman mixed into a large amount of flour, and you will find this in Luke 13:20-21. When we think of how Jesus declares that He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35), nurturing my starter has become a daily reminder of allowing God to regularly feed and nurture my heart, mind, and spirit. I already stated that sourdough cannot be rushed, and that is proven in the fact that making sourdough takes days of feeding and waiting, and that naturally can help build self-control and patience. It acts like a "slow food" that pushes back against instant gratification, and that can be similar to the process of spiritual maturation. And lastly, once Ronnie is strong and active and ready for me to bake with, I can share him with other people. Sharing this starter and the bread I bake with it with the people in my life reflects the early Christian practice of fellowship and generosity - breaking bread together.
Growing in my discipline with studying comes in so many different forms, as you clearly see in the above information I just dumped out. I see God in everything that I am working on, and it provides me with endless learning opportunities. I get the chance for self reflection while doing something as mundane as watering these new baby plants I have or checking to see if Ronnie is ready to be fed again. I am able to do inventory of my heart while also enjoying these hobbies of mine. It is so important that I ensure that my relationship with Christ gets my first and gets the same amount of care and urgency, if not more. Sure a daily bible plan with a devotional and two scriptures is good, but in order to actually learn and understand what I am reading, it requires that I take the time to lean in and do more than read someone else's POV. I need to understand the context of the scripture and see it for what it is truly speaking. And I don't have to feel overwhelmed for not getting it the first time, because the Holy Spirit is What helps me gain the right perspective. The Holy Spirit is Who helps piece it all together and become clear. Growing deeper in the Word doesn't have to be scary. Be consistent with your time and ask the Lord to help you. Pray before you read, worship when you're done. Treat the Lord like you would your best friend, and see what happens with the way you start to respond. I promise that you will reach a whole new level in your faith and you'll wonder why you didn't start sooner.
So I want to ask... what are YOU growing this season?
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