Growing in the Lord has always been a bittersweet thing for me if I’m being honest. The ideas of growth seem sweet to the ears. The idea of going deeper with God and allowing Him to take you to a different level than you were once at is something we all long for in our spirit. But when I focus on the pain more than the promise I end up resisting the process of growth. What makes growth bittersweet for me is the process we have to go through to grow.
Oftentimes we use the analogy of plants to illustrate our growth. I’d like to draw upon that analogy and give a different interpretation to help us understand the process of growth.
Plants need sun, water, and proper soil to grow. For this analogy I’d like to view the Sun as good times (Perhaps it’s because sunlight is the best way to absorb vitamin D and let’s be honest almost everyone enjoys a sunny day).
I’d also like to view water as bad times (This is not true for farmers or those who love the rain but for the sake of this analogy and exposing my bias to disliking rain, let’s just say it’s a bad day).
I’d also like to view soil as crap. Like literal crap. Actually more like feeling you’ve been crapped on, pardon my English. Unlike bad days, I’d like to suggest that the crap I’m talking about happens once in a blue moon.
In the lifespan of a plant, it spends most of its time in the Sun, depending on the type of plant. Also depending on the plant, it would need to be watered, perhaps once a week or every other depending on its needs. The soil required for its growth needs to be nutritious enough in order for the plant to grow.
Sometimes I wish that all we needed to grow was the Sun. Just good times and great weather to see us through life. But just like plants, it seems that we need to get rained on once in a while for us to absorb the nutrients in the soil. Perhaps it’s because rain helps absorb the nutrients in the soil better than when it’s dry. For some reason, manure (literally animal dung) is the most nutritious fertilizer you can put in your soil. It smells, it’s dirty, it’s messy yet it contains the most nutritious ingredients for a plant to grow.
What if I told you that we needed to get rained on once in while for us to grow. What if I told you that when seasons change you need to be repotted so that you have a bigger capacity to grow? What if I told you that the sun alone won’t be enough for you to grow? What if I told you that your crap carried the nutrients you needed to keep growing?
So Andrew, what are you saying to me, Do I have to get rained on to grow? Or worse, do I need to get crapped on?
Well in my little 31 years of living, I’ve come to understand that rain is going to happen, whether you are prepared for it or not. So it’s not a matter of having to get rained on but a matter of when you get rained on, what do you do?
Also I hope you don’t get crapped on, literally or metaphorically. If you examine your life and you think about the greatest moments you had with God. I wonder what they look like? I wonder what preceded them? Were they mountaintop to mountaintop? Or Did you take a trip to the valley? Did you step on some crap on the way there?
I’d like to encourage those who are caught in the rain and who have been crapped on by life. Hold on to what was said in the sunlight and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.
As Aunty Pat mentioned on Sunday “We cannot fail the tests of God but we will get to take them again and again and again until we pass! The test is the key to growth…”
Father, Help us to know that you are doing a good work in us. Give us the strength and perseverance to endure the growing pains and pass all the tests that you put us through. Thank you for your grace and mercy on our lives for when we fall short of your glory Lord. May we continue to fix our eyes on Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. The one who made a way when there was no way and simultaneously showed us the way. We love you and we need you! In Jesus’ name, we pray Amen.