Grow

Wait. Be still. Listen. Watch. Even though these are all passive sounding words, they require action on our part. I'm a "let's get things done" kind of person. I don't do well with "let's just wait and see" how it'll all turn out. I don't like the unknown either. I want a plan for the steps ahead. One. Two. Three. Check. Check. Check. 

Funny, just because I want things a certain way, doesn't mean they will turn out that way. As always, when I'm pondering over something and what will unfold, and planning it all out in MY mind, the Lord reminds to be still...to wait...or just watch and see what He is doing.

Psalm 37 in verse 7 tells us to not only "be still", but also to "wait patiently for him".  That is so difficult for me. Nothing gets done while I'm just sitting around. Or does it?   Psalm 33:20 says "Our soul waits for the Lord".  The Psalmist says the very depth of his being waits for the Lord.

Remember I said those words were actually action words? Be still doesn't just mean physically, but also spiritually. Turn your mind off of your thoughts and on to His plans. In Psalm 46, verse 10, we are told to be still, and to "know" that He is God.  When I'm still, am I allowing my mind and heart to know...really KNOW...He is God?  

Although you can't tell it by the plants at my house, I have a degree in horticulture. Growing plants and watching them come to full maturity was so exciting for me. I would get pretty impatient waiting for them to "do their thing" and bloom or come in to their mature foliage color. I worked part time at the campus greenhouses during college, so I saw these plants on a daily basis. I would water them, prune them, turn them, and care for them.  It seemed like they would never bloom. Some days, I couldn't tell if they were even growing!!

But, as I was learning in my botany and physiology coursework, even though we couldn't see the plant growing, it was constantly changing. Cells were elongating and dividing. The pigments for color were being laid down. The chromosomes were all lining up for that plant to be just what it was supposed to be. Even though I couldn't see with the naked eye what was going on, I had to have enough faith that if I continued to care for them, provide them sunlight and water, that they would mature and bloom. You know what? They did. I Nothing prettier than an entire greenhouse full of mums in the fall or poinsettias at Christmas. Such a grandiose display of our Creator through His creation.

And this is how it is with us. Waiting. Being still. Listening. Watching. He is at work in us growing us at the cellular level, preparing us to bloom. We can't hurry the process, but we can do our part. Still our hearts and minds. Wait to see what is next and not jump ahead of God. Listen to Him through the Word and His promptings. Watch...watch to see how we grow. Growth that took place while we were being still and waiting. Growth that took place because we were listening. Growth that took place because we chose to place ourselves in His greenhouse and leave the results to Him. Will you choose to be still and wait...patiently...with me...and grow?