People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die. ~ Plato
Some of the best dirt takes years to develop. Yards of compost, manure, lawn clippings. All the yuck combined and rolled and seasoned into fertile ground. Adam had this humus available right away in the garden. The Landscaper left him in charge of something already living and thriving. Like a heavenly roll-a-lawn.
But for us, after the fall, after the yuck has come in...we sometimes wait years for produce. Sometimes all we can see is the leftovers thrown at us and the rotting, stinking mess of it all. Sometimes we look for nourishment in others and find only disappointment. Others might look for it in us, too. The food they need, are we filled so we can be empty?
The pastor reminds us on Sunday that we can give words that have power.
And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. - Luke 4:32 NKJV
The living, active, powerful, piercing Word is ours for the wielding. Do we leave others with the dust-and-vapor words? Do we comfort with scraps of our compost pile? We have Words of life at our fingertips - words that can astonish. What people need is not our wisdom or stunted-view, but nourishment. Daily bread, living water.
We are also reminded that the most powerful time is time spent in prayer. Jesus rose early to get connected. Do we need anything less? Do those in our lives need anything less (or more) than our prayers?
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. - 1Jo 5:14-16 NKJV
So I commit to spend more time praying and listening. And as I pray for my friends and family, I also ask that my words would be nourishing. That time spent with me would feed them and not stunt their growth. I repent of my idle words, the ones that don't break down in the soil of good fellowship to feed souls. Plastic words, they're no good.
I have good-dirt people in my life. I'm so thankful for them, for God's mercy to me through them, and for the common compost of all our combined years, feeding us all.
Still counting to 1000...
155. My brother and how he blessed us
156. Sisters who pray for me
157. Pictures of Ethan on his first solo bike ride
158. $25 gift
159. Mommy making cheesy noodles, finally
160. a little sister who thinks big sister doing her hair is cool
161. Brookie's bday!
162. Bravo's for lunch
163. cinnamon rolls
164. four-wheeler rides
165. siblings playing board games together
166. Jacob, creating his own board game
167. sleeping til 7:30
168. sunny day with possibility of photography
169. getting my Nascar game
170. a house protected from the storm
171. little girls on four-wheeler
172. homemade playdough in bright colors
173. chocolate mousse cheesecake (finally)
174. sheetrock, after almost 6 years of bare framing
175. early morning Bible discussions
176. easy Mondays
177. impromptu visits
