God made dirt and Dirt don't hurt

I love how the Lord talks to me and redirects my thinking. I don't know why I keep thinking it's happenstance or random, but for me, it never is. The sweet Lord places things on my mind and heart that I never even knew He planted there until the Holy Spirit reveals something about the Word to me, and then I'm like, "Oh, duuuuuuh, Megan!"

What's been on my brain, you ask? Soil. Quite literally dirt. I have this passion to start a little garden in my back yard and the only thing stopping me how freaking expensive it would be to fill it up with dirt and soil and whatnot. So, I'm at a standstill. I haaaate being at a standstill with anything. Just ask my husband. My brain sorta glitches at a standstill, and my obsessive disorder doesn't let too much time go by with the reminder coming back up. So, I'm on a mission to fill up these garden beds. We assembled the beds and positioned them perfectly between my emotional support apple trees. The first layer of cardboard has been laid in the beds, so I wait.

I purchased these beauts from Carolina Home and Garden, Moana, and Malibu to satisfy my green thumb and dirt-digging itch. I'll you figure out which is which. If you ever get the chance to visit this place, please do... there are plants galore, live music, coffee, cocktails, a vintage arcade, goodies, and llamas. Need I say more? And when you go, please come by my house and get me first. Thanks!

Our church recently had a specialty program where Carolina Sound came and performed, and the singers, good gracious, were top-tier. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it. It was soulful, talent beyond belief, and the messages were so good. One message by the leader of the group (and forgive me if I don't get it exactly right because I wasn't taking notes at the time) was about soil. When we started talking about soil, my ears and spirit perked up.

When the Lord has laid something on you and brings it to you again on a different avenue, through a different person, in a different place, you better listen up. It's not by chance, I promise.

The leader proceeded speaking about the parable most of us have heard before. He said, "Some here will not hear what is being said by the Holy Spirit because they have rocky soil and are very hardened." I'm sure you can think of a few people like that. Then he said, "Some here will hear what the Holy Spirit is saying, but it won't take root in the sandy soil. They will leave here like they never heard anything." I'm sure you can think of more people to whom that applies. Then he proceeded, "Some of you have thorns in your soil. The Word gets planted, but that "thing" that keeps you from growing into your best keeps you from flourishing." I immediately thought, "Is that me?"

Since then, that soil imagery hasn't left me, so I know I must write about it. That message got me. I feel the coolness of damp soil like it’s covered my body, mind, and soul—not in a buried alive way, but in a protective, immersive, hugging way from the Lord. He wanted me to figuratively dive deeper into the soil and see what it said about me.

It's been hard to grasp every time I've heard this parable. Sometimes, the symbolism and allegory of the Bible are difficult to interpret because of the soil, the rocks, and the thorns... all that could mean so much to many different people. That's when people who shy away from the Holy Spirit get a little wonky about translations because they see the fault in human ways, but once the Holy Spirit plants a word within you, there's no doubt about its meaning to your spirit man.

I hope I'm not the only one who, when they hear about rocky soil, has a few people in their Rolodex of core memories that spin completely open to reveal them.

For example:

Name: Jane Doe

Best way to contact: FB message because they are forever seeking approval online

Details: Shuts down when you start talking about Jesus. Discounts most of what the Bible says because miracles aren't seen today. She must achieve greatness in the eyes of her peers because that is where her only validation comes from.

The crazy thing is I am Jane. Or rather, I was Jane.

And then there are the sandy soil folks who agree with what's said in the pew but won't recognize it when it's sitting at the dinner table at your favorite restaurant across from you. You'll raise hands and worship with amens, but then use your strength to accomplish anything you feel must be done.

I recognize her again in aspects of myself. Full transparency time: Prayer time is a struggle for me, and I'm actively trying to build my faith in this area of my life.

And then there are the ones who are fighting the thorns. Prick by prick, cut, and scrapped up, you battle on. Trying to hear God and grow in His word, you see the sunlight, reach for it, and then thorns come in to choke you back down.

That is me! That's a lot of us.

I noticed the leader didn't speak much of good soil. He didn't talk about soil that is dense in nutrients, has good drainage, is strategically placed in adequate sunlight, and produces beautiful vegetables or flowers.

Is that because it rarely exists?

So, in the next couple of days, I went outside to plant some flower seeds I had ordered weeks before (another God nod). I raked the old dying debris away, tilled and worked the soil right next to our house, saw beetles and worms, and immediately made a grimace. I planted the seeds next to the "pests," covered them, and let the glorious rain soak the ground.

I think the leader didn't mention good soil because, honestly, it takes work—work that some folks aren't willing to recognize or do. If you believe your soil is fine, there's nothing to do, and then you slowly, inch by inch, see that area of your life taken over by pests, weeds, and thorns. Dealing with worms isn't much fun (although when I was younger, I loved digging for worms and bugs, haha). Doing the hard work of therapy and isolation and Christian counseling isn't fun sometimes either, but all that is needed is to help with the breakdown of the soil.

The Holy Spirit told me, "You sit there and think whatever soil one has is because they are born with it, and that's just who they are. Your soil was once unproductive also." It's a choice. While I realized people choose the soil they live in, this was also a lesson for me. I am not to judge a person for their soil. Yes, I can look at the fruit they are producing and discern if it's of the Lord. I do not have to be planted in the same soil, way of life, environment, habits, etc. While it's not for me to change their soil, it is my job to plant the seed of the good news of Jesus.

Just like those flower seeds I planted next to my house; I often worry when I speak Jesus to people the same thoughts:

Will that seed sprout and grow?

Will something get in the way? Weeds, temptations, birds, doubt, drought?

If it does start to grow, will it ever reach its full potential?

Will what it produces be beautiful for me and others to see?

Will what it produces feed my family, friends, and community?

Will it take root and be strong?

And honestly, none of that is my job or my worry. That's Jesus, big time. But I am obligated to tell you this. If people speak to you about Jesus, do me a favor and till your soil. They may not be sharing their love for Jesus with you because they are judging you. It's from their heart. Isn't that why any gardener plants anything? They love it so much they want to see it be big and beautiful and bountiful and grow to its highest potential, all the way toward heaven.

K bye

Megan

Doing life, the best I know how…