When managing a plant we typically focus on what the plant looks like on the outside, and often ignore facts like plants begin to wither from beneath the soil, where the public eye can't see it. Often we get caught up in functioning as public successes and then living as a private failures. Putting to much focus on events and offenses, we typically end up neglecting our own "SOIL"? I now pose you a question How are you managing your soil?
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves.”
– Leo Tolstoy
What is soil?
Soil is a natural resource used for growth of land and plants. The soil that I'm referring to is around your heart, what things are you allowing your soil to inherit and soak up?
Here are a few keys things to know about a soils functionality and benefits.
· Most plants get their nutrients from soil
· It is the main source of survival
· Most living things depend on soil for their existence
· Soil Helps Anchor your roots
Scientist have classified that there are four types of soils.
Sandy Soil - is light, warm, dry and tend to be acidic and low in nutrients. Sandy soils are often known as light soils due to their high proportion of sand and little clay (clay weighs more than sand). These soils have quick water drainage and are easy to work with.
Silty Soil -is slippery when wet, not grainy or rocky. The soil itself can be called silt if its silt content is greater than 80 percent. When deposits of silt are compressed and the grains are pressed together, rocks such as siltstone form. Silt is created when rock is eroded, or worn away, by water and ice.
Clay Soil-is a heavy soil type that benefits from high nutrients. Clay soils remain wet and cold in winter and dry out in summer. These soils are made of over 25 percent clay, and because of the spaces found between clay particles, clay soils hold a high amount of water.
Loamy Soil-made with a balance of the three main types of soil: sand, silt, and clay soil. As a general rule, loam soil should consist of equal parts of all three soil types. This combination of soil types creates the perfect soil texture for plant growth
Luke 8:5-8
While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
What type of soil do you have?
The type of soil you have will depend on the things we allow to be deposited in us; these things can range from environments we place ourselves in, emotions that have lingered around to long( emotions should be temporary) and states of minds we have allowed ourselves to settle in ( a state of mind can become permanent). For some, you will identify with one of the soils quickly and for most it will be something that will take a little longer to recognize because you have been laser focus on others soil and not your own. I would prefer the Loamy Soil I need to be able to grow, produce and multiply my fruit!
When was the last time you evaluated your soil?
I started tending to my soil pretty regularly when I realized that, that the plant I was created to be needed to maintain and sustain my purpose in this world. Your purpose needs to be nurtured and maintain pretty regularly.
Who is gardening your soil?
A Gardner is a person who tends and cultivates a garden as a pastime or for a living. I remember asking myself who am I allowing to cultivate my garden. To cultivate means to improve or develop by careful attention, training, study or to prepare land. I then identified that it was God and that the gardener had never left my soil had just lost touch with him.
Sometimes its hard to identify something that you were never aware of but here are some ways to identify if your soil is at risk .
What type of things contribute to feeding your soil?
I would describe it as anything we allow to deposit and/or reside into our hearts?
· Tv shows
· Quotes
· Memes
· Lack of discipline
· Perception
· Lack of understanding
· Environmental residue
· Lingering energy
· Spirits (of all kinds)
· Social media
· Books
· Radio
· Podcast
· Religion
· Influencers
· Old plants / leaves (your Past)
· And so on….
Lack of knowledge about our soil
Being unaware of knowledge that you lack about your soil is a starter. This summer I got to learn a lot about plants because I fell in love with the “IDEA” of ways they could calm me and how they could add healthy benefits to my home. Let me add that these were the only things I looked up about the plants, all that was important to me was clean air and the Zen that was coming my way. Why did I limit myself on the becoming knowledgeable about something that I was investing my time and money in?
Here are a few reasons how we block incoming knowledge from being received or sought out:
Clinging to one's comfort zone.
Fear of Failure.
Arrogance
Defensiveness.
Impatience.
Rigid mindset.
Lack of perspective
I will go through each one of these in next upcoming challenge "Factoring (I) into the equation" next month. For now I will acknowledge what took me out, impatience and arrogance! TRIGGERRED anyone? Well I was because I thought who ever cant take care of plants is an idiot!! All you have to do is water them!!! WRONG!
Lack of understanding
At this point my house looked like little shop of horrors (but in a good way). My plan was to water the plants every day and I would reap all the benefits ( Yes the only two I looked up). One plant started to die quickly while another plant flourished, and they alternated in this pattern all over the house. I was aware that the plants were all different, but my lack of understanding prohibited me from creating separate plans for my plants (there is an app for this). We typically lack understanding in things because we don’t ask enough clarifying questions and/or we don’t read the entire manual to begin with. I am guilty of both.
Lack of wisdom
Lack of wisdom comes from not having understanding or knowledge. Wisdom cant exist if you lack understanding of the information. Simple understanding doesn't just come from compiling information in your head, it derives from identifying what words really mean (not perceived definitions your brain has created). I can honestly admit to you with a transparent heart I had acquired absolutely no wisdom about my plants prior to my plant's downfall. What I can say is that my ego encouraged me to pretend like I had wisdom. It was really just to soothe an emotional need I was experiencing at the time and it was costly also. In the end I wasted my money and time because I chose arrogance and impatience over acquiring the wisdom, opting in to Ego and Opting out of Humility. Please Take the proper steps to gain wisdom, Lack of wisdom will always cost you !
Lack of boundaries (excessive human demand of ourselves)
Buying 20+ plants was already excessive in just the number itself, but my capacity to care for the plants was limited. Not to be funny but managing 1 hubby, 2 hormonal daughters, a dog, a rabbit and two baby companies .... the Capacity is almost full lol. If we offer ourselves up to people, events, activities, situations and so on with no limitation or boundaries for what we give out we are setting ourselves up to damage our soil.
I once heard a quote from Iyanla Vanzant “ What is in your cup is for you what comes out of your cup is for others."
Your cup cannot runneth over if you are allowing people to drink from inside the cup as well. If your cup isn’t filling back up at the rate people are drinking from, you begin trying to give from an empty cup. Which it can cause you to be disconnected from your gardener!
Bad Soil can reject a good seed!
At this moment and time we might be sitting here looking like well I'll be damned! When did this happen? and How did we get here?
Our soil doesn’t just become affected over night. Our soil was always required to be carefully managed because it can easily become damaged or toxic. If we understand our soil and manage it properly we will avoid destroying one of the essential building blocks God has designed for ourselves and what feeds our spirits.
If you ignore the faulty state that your soil is currently in , eventually your soil will come deal with your tree.
Matthew 3:10
The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire
Key Tips in Managing your soil
· Become aware of your soil- This is going to take some self revelation, sometimes the ENEMY is (IN ME), its you!
· Take accountability for your faulty soil – your soil is being managed by you and only you This can be no one else’s fault but your own. Only you can change you ! (+ GOD)
·Transplant your self to some better soil- Sometimes it takes you to relocate ( not physically necessarily) but spiritually your heart might need to be moved to a healthier pot of soil.
· Add some organic Compost – or·gan·ic relating to or derived from living matter, this for me is the word of God, my manual for life . For you it might be something different but you need will need something organic to add nutrients back to your soil.
Luke 8:11-15
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop
If your interested in signing up for the challenge to help manage your soil click the link below and subscribe!
The Change I want to see must begin in me!
Pastor Van Moody