Simply Soul Searching

(A SEASON OF NEW GROWTH #4)
Wednesday, June 2nd

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you
and that you may be in good health,
just as it is well with your soul.
(3 John 1:2, NRSV)

Now that we have our soil prepared, what crops will we choose to plant? We might consider the benefits of rotating crops – changing which crops are grown in different areas each season. I read about the benefits of crop rotation in the article, What are the Benefits of Crop Rotation in Agriculture? – Agriculture Loan, and briefly summarize them here:

When the same crops are planted in the same area each year, the same nutrients from the soil are taken out of it and eventually become depleted. Crop rotation varies which nutrients are used from the soil, keeping the soil healthier longer. The same issue happens with pests and disease. With the same crop, pests and bacteria can thrive, as they know exactly where to find or remain with their crop of choice; changing the crops helps to impede or stop their progress. Also, the soil may suffer from erosion as the same crops have the same root shapes, watering needs, and spacing. Alternating crops helps to change up the soil structure.

“Adopting a successful crop rotation plan is the best way to ensure that your crops have the best chance at a fruitful life,” the article concludes.

The agricultural practice of crop rotation speaks to our own “fruitful life” of growth and well-being. How might we rotate our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual fields for better balance – better health?

~ My physical body appreciates slower schedules and restful times, but when I have too much of this slower pace, my mind begins racing! A few tasks or books to read can help to free my mind from needless worry or over-thinking.

~ When I spend a day writing and reflecting, my spirit is content, but my body grows restless! I need to spend time walking in nature to reenergize and be refreshed.

~ When my emotional field is downcast, moving to a spiritual or creative field such as baking or writing helps to uplift my thoughts and emotions.

~ When my soul is overwhelmed, I need time in solitude and quiet prayer, a rest from the physical busyness and mental distractions of the day.

As we become more mindful of our time spent in each of these fields – and more attentive to our need to move on – we will find greater balance and restoration for our entire being. Similar to tending our fields and gardens, we can tend ourselves with changes in routine when our ground feels withered and dry. We can restore what is lacking or depleted by moving to other fields that nurture and replenish. When the diseases and pests of resentment, envy, ennui, or apathy begin to encroach, we can say, “I have spent enough time here” and choose to grow in another area. We do not need to remain stagnant or mired in a place that inhibits our healthy growth.

Which field – physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual – has been taking most of your time and energy in recent days? What new field may be inviting you today?

Photo by jean wimmerlin on Unsplash

(A SEASON OF NEW GROWTH #3)
Monday, May 31st

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free,
there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
(Galatians 3:28, NRSV)

Our work to prepare the soil of our souls isn’t finished until any remaining clumps of hardened dirt are broken apart. When soil consists of clumps that are hard and dry, roots have difficulty extending and rain is not easily absorbed. A garden cannot flourish through ground that is firm and impenetrable.

This word – clumps – reminds me of a game we once played in our church youth group. “Clumps” was a fast and easy game in which a leader would call out a number and a defining characteristic, and the teens would gather (clump) together accordingly. The leader might ask for “six people with the same eye color” or “five people who are in the same grade,” and the teens would rush to form into groups. Any leftover teens would be out of the game until the next round.

The game of Clumps provided fun and laughter for our teens, but today God seems to be showing me the harm of clumping in my daily life. I am thinking of my tendency to form people into clumps according to one (often superficial) characteristic. Worse, I am thinking of my tendency to assign other characteristics – often the most extreme or negative qualities – to that clump.

I humbly share some examples…

~ After 9-11, I was so grateful that an area church arranged to have an Imam from the Islamic Temple speak to us about his faith. I learned so much that day, especially that the 9-11 terrorists were far from what the Islamic faith holds true; the Muslim people strive to live and serve in love, just as I do. Yet, it still took some time for me to stop clumping anyone who (I thought) appeared to be Muslim into a group of potential terrorists.

~ During the isolation of the pandemic, I found that I was increasingly assigning people to clumps solely based on their political views posted on social media. I began to lose sight of the qualities and beliefs we had in common; I began to forget the joys of our friendship when we were together in community. Instead, I began seeing people according to the political views they held, whether or not they wore masks, and what stances they took on social issues that are important to me. I struggled with seeing the whole person, often letting one tenet or viewpoint define them.

Forgive me, God, for these clumping ways of mine!

We are complex and multi-faceted individuals, full of nuance and depth. We are so much more than our appearance, religion, nationality, political stance, orientation, or economic class. One trait does not begin to encompass our entirety. One vote does not mean we completely embrace a person or platform. One act does not define our life.

We have been uniquely created by God, who seems to have an affinity for diversity and variety.

How might new life grow if we were to envision our world as one giant clump of diverse human beings, all fully beloved by God? If we were to recognize that our universal God wants us to clump around love alone? If we were to ask God to help us break down our clumps and to see the need for diversity, until we become one world of soft and aerated soil…?

I see a world where everyone has the freedom and courage to lovingly extend our roots into an interconnected system of support; a world of soft and open soil for the water of life to be absorbed by all of creation. I see a world where our roots are so intertwined that there is no room for the weeds of fear and hatred to grow. I see a world of new growth, new health, new life, together.

“Where the Spirit is moving, love for God always, always, always overflows in love for neighbor. And according to Jesus, our neighbor isn’t just the person who is like us, the person who likes us, or the person we like. Our neighbor is anyone and everyone – like us or different from us, friend or stranger – even enemy. As Peter learned in his encounter with Cornelius (Acts 10), the Spirit wants to break down walls of prejudice and hostility so that we stop judging us as clean and them as unclean, opening the way for strangers and enemies to become neighbors, friends, family.”¹

We may not be able to change the world, but we do have the ability to change ourselves. How might we begin to make that happen today – in ourselves, our homes, our communities? What is one clump we might begin to break apart in order to foster healthy growth?

¹McLaren, Brian. We Make the Road by Walking. Jericho Books (New York, Boston, Nashville).

Photo by Karen

(A SEASON OF NEW GROWTH #2)
Wednesday, May 26th

This God—his way is perfect;
    the promise of the Lord proves true;
    he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
(Psalm 18:30, NRSV)

When I first began preparing this post, my plan was to write about tilling the soil. I had thought of using this as a metaphor for us to break apart and open ourselves to receive good seeds. But as I researched the benefits of tilling, I kept finding the benefits of “no-till gardening” instead! Of course, this new finding had much to show me about God and our spiritual life…

At My Soulful Home, Kelly Wilkniss writes:

With No Till Gardening, once the bed is established the surface is never disturbed. Amendments are layered on, added to the top of the bed.  Over time, these amendments are pulled into the subsoil by watering and the busy undersoil organisms. Weeding becomes largely a thing of the past.  It is replaced by mulching – adding more layers which smother the weeds & provide for your plants.

By adding material in layers, the underlying soil surface remains spongy, making it easy for the young roots of newly planted seedlings to work through the soil. This is similar to the way soil is formed in nature.  Think of the forest floor. Tilling is a bad practice because your soil has its mojo going on and then you come at it with the sharp tines of your tiller and mess the whole thing up.  It is akin to turning all the lights up really bright at a rockin’ party.  Buzz kill!¹

God is not outside of us, waiting for an opportunity to enter in when we break apart. God is already within us, gently working through us, creating the healthy soil of our souls to receive and nurture seeds of love. God opens and softens us to absorb the lessons that life layers on us, turning those layers into good compost, providing fertile ground for new growth.

All of our joys and sorrows, hurts and healings, gains and losses, successes and failures, are gathered, broken down, and integrated into beneficial and nourishing topsoil that will foster our growth as people of God. The showers of God’s love gently wash away all that is no longer useful, leaving only the essential goodness from each experience. We gain from our experiences such things as kindness, acceptance, compassion, hope, forgiveness, joy, peace, and love, under a protective and nurturing cover. Through all of the layers, we also grow in our awareness of God’s constant, caring, and active presence in our lives.

As we learn to embrace everything life offers, as we learn to place every layer of our lives into God’s transforming power, we will soon discover surprising new growth sprouting up into the sunshine.

¹No Till Gardening – Your Soil Needs a Do Not Disturb Sign — My Soulful Home  Kelly Wilkniss

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

(A SEASON OF NEW GROWTH #1)
Monday, May 24th

When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the Lord: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.  (Leviticus 25:2-4, NRSV)

Could our first step toward our Season of New Growth actually be a decision to lie fallow?

No, this will not be the first and only post in this series! But today’s reflection reminds us of the importance of choosing to keep restful, quiet, unhurried time in our days.

Let’s consider the benefits of fallowing ground for gardening. Darcy Larum, Landscape Designer, writes:

Fallow ground, or fallow soil, is simply ground or soil which has been left unplanted for a period of time. In other words, fallow land is land left to rest and regenerate.

Early in the history of fallowing, farmers usually did a two-field rotation, meaning they would divide their field into two halves. One half would be planted with crops, the other would lie fallow. The following year, farmers would plant crops in the fallow land, while letting the other half rest or fallow. As agriculture boomed, crop fields grew in size and new equipment, tools and chemicals became available to farmers, so many crop producers abandoned the practice of soil fallowing… a field left unplanted does not turn a profit.

Allowing the soil to have a specific rest period gives it time to replenish nutrients which can be leached from certain plants or regular irrigation. It also saves money on fertilizers and irrigation. In addition, fallowing the soil can cause potassium and phosphorus from deep below to rise toward the soil surface where it can be used by crops later. Other benefits of fallowing soil are that it raises levels of carbon, nitrogen and organic matter, improves moisture holding capacity, and increases beneficial microorganisms in the soil. Studies have shown that a field that has been allowed to lie fallow for just a year produces a higher crop yield when it is planted.¹

Like the farmer hoping for a profit, I am one who tends to think of an “abundant life” as a busy or productive life. I can feel irritable and frustrated on days when very little has been accomplished. I may not realize that my body needed to rest, or my mind needed to regroup, or my soul needed to reflect. Perhaps these fallow days provided some much-needed space for rest and replenishment. In addition, as noted in the farming fields, these unproductive days may have helped to rebuild resources for my future productivity and better “yield.”

We will never live abundantly if we spread ourselves too thinly.

What are some ways we can include more fallowing time in our lives?

~ Do we say “no” to something good in order to do something better?
~ Do we say “not right now” to something that can wait until a future time?
~ Do we fully honor a day of sabbath rest each week?
~ Do we make time in our day to turn off and from the things that distract?
~ Do we summon the courage to say “no” to requests or demands that are not ours to assume?
~ Do we examine the real impetus for our frenetic chasing – or what we may be trying to avoid?

We have much to learn from the soil. When can learn to set aside our plans and productivity for a time, inviting the hidden longings of our souls to rise to the surface. We can learn to schedule quiet and restful spaces for our depleted soils and souls to recover and replenish. We can learn the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 3:1, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” We can learn to embrace the natural rhythms of life and of God, a balance of work and rest that is essential for our well-being.

What will we not do today in order to grow abundantly tomorrow?

¹Read more at Gardening Know How: What Is Fallow Ground: Are There Any Benefits Of Fallowing Soil https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/what-is-fallow-ground.htm

Photo by Karen, Hurricane, WV