If you recall, this last week I had a complete and utter melt down over my sweet potato harvest. You should also know that I rarely take things at surface level. I’m always left asking,
“Why?”
I was recalling this less than stellar moment of mine to my dear friend and mentor, who also, when I remember to send them to her, edits these blog posts. As I’m reading the words aloud, recalling how upset I was over another sweet potato failure, I was very quickly pushed right back into the same sadness I thought I had overcome. This time however, I realized it wasn’t my mother-in-laws fantastic harvest that had me so upset but rather the fact that I had failed, yet again.
Suddenly, the question why crept its way back into my mind.
Why, of all the things I’ve failed at over the years, this summer….just yesterday, does this one bother me so much? Clearly this was about more than sweet potatoes.
The beautiful things about asking God why is more often than not he tells me. Now, don’t get me wrong, my life has much heart ache in it. There are many times I’ve asked God why he allowed something to happen and there seems to be no reply. Some things I simply am not meant to know. Sometimes, I just have to trust his will for my life. But this is not one of those times.
It took only a few hours for small bits of wisdom to be revealed to me.
As I had stated in my prior meltdown, my mother in laws sweet potato crop was beautiful. And while we were digging them, she reminded me that she planted them just as I had instructed her to do. She gave them their best chance to grow an abundant crop.
This proves the point that I know how to grow an abundant crop of sweets. Now, will mother nature sometimes destroy your best efforts? You bet. Just ask my cucumbers, corn and melons. But that was not the case with my sweet potatoes.
The problem with my sweet potatoes is that I refused to do what was necessary to grow the crop I want. It’s not that those conditions can’t exist in the space I have, because they absolutely can. The question becomes, am I willing to sacrifice what I know will need to be sacrificed to obtain those conditions? Which in the case would mean planting less of something else in the main garden.
Now, clearly this is not a question worth crying over. I promise you I don’t care enough about my other crops to cry over planting 6 less tomato plants. I may even rejoice over planting less beans. So of course it lead me to yet another question.
What in my life is screaming for me to give it the opportunity to grow into it’s full potential if I would just give it the space to do so?
This I do not have an answer to just yet, but that’s okay. Now, time for your challenge of the day.
What are the sweet potatoes in your life? We all have them. I would urge you to look beyond what you see a face value and ask God to show you the root of the problem. I may not have my full answer yet but I assure you, it’s coming. And at least for now, I don’t feel like such an emotional crazy person.
May you always uncover the truth and enjoy planning your garden for 2019. Maybe you’ll leave some space for the sweet potatoes.