A few weeks ago I bought a cheap $3 lavender seed kit from the amazing everything use to be a dollar bin at Target. Y’all I have bought these kits before and let my kids mess with them- total hands off project. Nothing ever happens for us. More than likely it is because we don’t actually water them or give them sunlight. But I LOVE lavender so I was determined to make this one the exception to the rule.
I added water to the soil and planted the seeds per instructions. Well kind of, I added all the seeds in the package instead of the 4-6 it suggested. Rebel, I know. Any way, I stuck it on the table where it would get sunlight and then actually watered it daily. My kids helped remind me when the plant was dry and they would water it too.
“MOM, MOM, MOM!!! This is growing” my kids were yelling in excitement. Something growing that we planted- it wasn’t normal. I enthusiastically said “I see!” as I tried to get as excited as they were. But reality- I just want a lavender field. Those sprouts are just the beginning but I want the finished product. I know that the little progress I see, means we have a long way to go.
I watched as each of my kids looked at the tiny little pot with the tiny little sprouts and how they all were filled with such excitement and expectation. They were excited and expecting of what was to come.
When God is growing us we need to be reminded that the growth is often slow. It starts under the soil where we don’t actually see the growth. Then the sprouts come up. Those sprouts still need water and light. They need patience and consistency. Eventually we will have a lavender field that we get to harvest but even then, that field will always need tending.
I want to be like my kids watching those sprouts when God is growing me. I want to be excited and expectant. I want to marvel at the growth, no matter how small. I want to keep watering the soil even when I don’t see the growth. I tend to just want the lavender field. I want to skip the waiting, the growing, the pruning. I just want the pretty purple, fragrant field that I can harvest and enjoy. But that is not reality.
God does His best work in the growing process. I can get really discouraged when I know I am working but see very little progress. But progress is progress, no matter how small. Lets be excited when we see little sprouts of progress in our lives! Celebrate them, get excited! If you see a little sprout in your friend, celebrate with her! Today I just want to encourage you to see the sprouts, thank God for how he is working beneath the soil, and be overjoyed at the progress!
All the things 