Growing

By Alex Burris

Spring has come (and almost gone) in Texas and everything around us is growing and changing. I live in an apartment and for the last couple years I have tried so hard to grow plants. Any kinds of plants! You name it, I have tried it. Some have done marvelously and some have failed miserably. Some grew extremely fast and others were slow in the way they grew. This year, since spring has come and the weather is warm, I have gotten some plants to grow…AGAIN. I am about two weeks in now, and I have already noticed that they all are growing different. The tomatoes need to have lots of sunlight. My flowers need shade with some sunlight. The list goes on and on I can get frustrated sometimes because I get caught up in what I think I’m doing wrong, right, and what needs to be changed! Especially since I have spent time, money, and emotional energy on them.

Right now we are growing as a church. Some of those growing pains are really difficult and challenging! I know they are for me! What can I do better for the children to entice them to stay here? How can I help them grow? I think we get discouraged and stuck with what the world tells us we should be doing, when we should be looking to God for guidance and help. Are we praising him when there are victories? Are we crying to him when there is pain? I think about how God feels about us sometimes and our growth as Christian’s. Obviously, we are all sinners, but I can only imagine the pain we cause Him sometimes. He too, has spent time helping shape us into who we are!

Instead of worrying about everyone and everything around us, it’s important for us to be able to look to God and follow what He is asking us to do. It doesn’t matter what the world thinks, it matters what He thinks. If we stay true to that, we might get some really good tomatoes at the end of the season!