Growth Doesn’t Happen By Accident

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Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

Napoleon Hill

I made a decision to shrink my garden this year.  I am just way too busy in this season of my life to keep up with my normally ambitious garden.  This year my garden will be about one-third the size of last year.  I will be using the square-foot gardening method to make the most of the space which now consists of four four-by-eight foot garden beds.  One of the beds is dedicated to asparagus, and a quarter of another bed is dedicated to horseradish.  This means I have approximately eighty square feet of garden space to plant.

Last night, Leanne and I planted two kinds of lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, and kale.  I’ll do another planting in 10 to 14 days.  Around Mother’s Day, I will plant tomatoes, peppers, beans, and a few other vegetables that require warmer temperatures.

I like the work that goes into a productive garden.  And I like the produce that eventually comes as the temperatures get warmer (as long as I keep the deer and groundhogs out of the garden).  Produce will not happen unless I put the effort in to plant the seeds.   A productive garden does not happen by accident.

This is true for many things in life.

My kids will not automatically turn out respectful and well-adjusted unless my wife and I put the work into them planting seeds that point them in the right direction.

My career will not just move in a desired direction unless I put the effort into it and take time to learn the skills and embrace the experience required to take me there.

My faith will not grow unless I take time to feed my soul with God’s Word and unless I plug into other believers who will spur me on to greater heights.

In all areas of our life, growth does not happen without hard work, without planting the right things into our lives, and without stretching ourselves.

How have you experienced growth in your life recently?  What do you attribute to this growth?

Where do you need to grow right now?  What’s stopping you from growing?