Whoa Baby, Look How Much You’ve Grown

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven…A time to plant and a time to harvest (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).

Have you ever considered how much plants and your life have in common? Last year I received a unique birthday gift from my husband. It was a blue pot that had soil in it. My husband told me that bulbs of my favorite flower had been planted in the soil and would grow over time. For an individual who knew very little about properly caring for a plant, I was excited yet skeptical about how successful this process would be.

I remember taking trips to the porch frequently to water the plant. Other days when water wasn’t needed, I would go outside just to see if there was any progress in the growth process. Personally, the hardest part for me was waiting patiently and watching for some sign of hope to show itself above the soil. Days passed, weeks passed, and even a couple of months passed; however, my plant successfully grew. I was so excited and would often say, “Whoa baby, look how much you’ve grown.”

This summer my attempts with planting did not go as well as last year. It’s ok, I’m still learning. I’ll just try again next year. Although my pursuit of growing plants this year was unsuccessful, I still learned some valuable life lessons through planting.

One sunny day I remember staring out the window at my pots with freshly planted seeds. I was so grateful for the sun because it had been overcast and raining every day for almost a week. My plants, that had yet to sprout, could finally get all the food and nurture they needed. Again, came the process of waiting patiently for a sign of hope. I frequently wondered if anything was happening beneath the soil, but of course, I knew the answer would be revealed in time. During that very moment God reminded me that just because I couldn’t see below the soil, it didn’t mean nothing was happening. He also pointed out to me that all plants don’t grow at the same rate. Some plants need more time and nurture to fully grow and develop. Either way, it takes faith and hope to believe that change is occurring even when I can’t see it.

This moment wasn’t just about a plant, it was about life. I reflected on seeds in my own life that I had recently worked so hard to plant; praying and hoping that one day I would see the results of my labor. Despite all of my hard work, many days I felt like nothing was happening and wondered if it was all in vain. It’s amazing how with time and patience, some of the seeds that I felt were growing the least were in the process of manifesting the whole time.

My reflective question to you today: What seeds in your life are you tired of waiting on to fully develop? What seeds in the soil of your life do you need to look at and say, “Be patient, give it a little more time?” Have you been anxiously waiting to see the results of a seed planted in your life called faith, authenticity, patience, timeliness, consistency, self-awareness, courage, health, balance, etc.? You may not be able to see every seed in your life quickly grow and manifest right before your eyes; honestly sometimes you may not notice any change at all. During those moments remember that just because you can’t always see below the soil it doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. When you least expect it, you will realize your hard work was not in vain, and just like my planting season last year, you will surprisingly and gratefully look at yourself in the mirror with a smile and say, “Whoa baby, look how much you’ve grown.”

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:22-23)

What kind of fruit do you produce on your job? My job? Yes, your job. Whether you wake up excited and vibrant ready to embark upon another day of work, or you drag yourself out of bed wishing the weekend would come more quickly, the type of fruit you produce on your job does matter and it can make a difference in the lives of others.

For the past five years I’ve worked nights as a nurse in a hospital. As one can imagine I’ve taken care of all different types of patients and their family. I’ve worked shifts where everything went smoothly, and my patients were content, but I’ve also worked shifts where it seemed that no matter what I did and how hard I tried a patient was not satisfied. Typically, this has nothing to do with me directly as their nurse, but compiled frustrations of being sick and hospitalized for several days; however, caring for an unsatisfied patient can still make a shift very challenging and tiring.

Over the course of my career, I’ve developed the habit of saying a prayer before I start any shift at the hospital. I pray that God will be with me (my hands, feet, mind and tongue) as I care for His people. It’s during the busier and more stressful nights that sometimes I must stop in my tracks, amid quickly gathering another medicine or filling another cup with ice and water and ask the Lord to help me adequately get through the remainder of the shift. How amazing is it that on several occasions when I’ve least expected it, the same patients who made my night rather challenging were the same ones who by the end of the shift said, “Thank you for being patient with me. Thank you for being so kind. We need more nurses like you.”

Reflecting on a shift, I remember hearing a variation of these comments from two separate patients. Hearing compliments like these only made me smile at God with admiration and gratefulness. I could only think, “Wow God how cool is that? Patient. Kind. Those are all fruits of the Spirit you’ve shown to my patients, through me, amid a stressful and difficult night.”

So again, I ask, what type of fruit do you produce on your job? In your life it may be the typical Monday through Friday nine to five, or volunteer at a local center, or a busy day at home with your children. In whatever way a job is displayed in your life right now, know that your fruit matters because you never know how the kind of fruit you produce can positively impact the life of another, while reflecting the character of Jesus Christ.