Growth Spurts, Productivity and Faith
What plants and kids share with us about productivity.
As I sat through a contemplative session, the facilitator read the prayer Patient Trust by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and these words began the theme of the session for me.
trust the slow work of God
your ideas mature gradually - let them grow
Now, I’m a person with a lot of ideas. Too many, if I’m being honest. And I want to get them done… on my time. I’m often planning, prioritizing, saying yes, working towards achievement, looking for my next project, writing, drafting, saving, erasing… the list goes on. Can you relate?
I think that’s why when I heard those statements, they struck me. Let’s go through it together, and hopefully what I share will bring more insight for both of us.
…
Right now I’m in the “plant lady” phase of my life. I didn’t know this was a phase, but I heard someone on TikTok refer to their plant lady phase (so it must be true), and as I looked around my house I realized I was firmly in mine as well.
It starts with one plant.
My son received an aloe vera, and for once in my life I was actually able to keep a plant alive. Unfortunately it just died, but I still consider it a win because we got it a few years ago.
Before I knew it, I had more plants than space. I was propagating plants, and giving them away. I was bringing more plants home. It was a whole thing.
Anyway…
As I contemplated the statement in Teilhard de Chardin’s poem, it reminded me of plants, and parenting - growth and growth spurts.
On Plants
Plants grow at different speeds.
I have a Samurai plant, and a Pothos plant. They’ve both been with me for over a year, and I care for them as directed.
The Samurai plant barely looks like it’s grown.
The Pothos plant has grown continually, and I’ve propagated a number of plants from it to give to others.
Here’s where my reflections brought me:
Some ideas are quick to bring to fruition.
Yes!
Most ideas take time, care, and special attention.
We need to tend them, and speak kindly to them.
Maybe we write them down, and check in to see where we’re at with them once in a while.
What are some ways I can “trust the slow work of God” when my ideas seem to be taking longer than I’d like?
Plants need watering at different times.
I have a Christmas cactus, and a Nerve plant.
I water the Christmas cactus once a month. It actually does better if I leave it alone.
If I don’t water my nerve plant, it gets all dramatic and wilts. I know it’s being dramatic because within a couple hours it’s back to its original brilliance.
If I overwater a plant, it can create an harmful growing environment. For example, a monstera plant can become susceptible to root rot, and the plant will die.
Bringing it together:
If I overwater an idea - spend too much time stressing about it or trying to get it finished when it’s not ready to move forward - it can create an unhelpful environment.
If I underwater an idea - write it down, and let it grow itself - it can also create an unhelpful environment.
Sometimes water for my productive soul means keeping track of ideas I completed so I don’t focus on all the things I want to do, and get overwhelmed or think I don’t do anything.
Listening to my body is the first step towards being fruitfully productive. By that I mean, I can get things done, but will they be as fruitful?
On Parenting
If you have kids, or were a kid, you may remember the days when a growth spurt hit, and all the food in the house seemed to just… disappear. Maybe parents notice the food thing more than the kids do.
As a parent of teenagers who are now taller than me, those growth spurts added up, and so do my ideas. But my teenager wasn’t born one day, and full size the next. It took time, and in some cases, more patience than I had in the moment.
Kids also grow at different speeds, are hungry at different times, and are much pickier than plants when it comes to food.
Landing the plane:
Like a child I say, “Are we there yet!?”
Like a parent (although I imagine much more gently) God says, “We’ll get there when we get there.”
Sometimes an idea seems to take off on its own.
It could be a new inspiration, or a deadline, but it gets completed.
My invitation
I think my invitation is to keep having ideas, keep writing them down, and once in a while coming back to see what’s there and if/how they’ve changed.
Another invitation is to stop working on ideas that are completed - that’s just make work stuff for me.
When I journal (which isn’t daily but is often) I always start with how I’m coming to my journal - stressed, tired, excited, happy - and what’s causing me to feel that way. This helps me get those thoughts out of my head, and is helpful in bringing myself into the presence of Spirit.
Have one big priority for the day, and allow everything else to fall as it may could go a long way is decreasing my anxiety… although not necessarily my to-do list.
Points to Ponder:
As you consider these questions, I encourage to start by thinking about how you come to this space, and what’s causing you to feel that way.
What areas in your life could you “trust the slow work of God” right now?
How would you do that?
How can you tell when you’re not doing that?
What idea is ready to experience a growth spurt?
How can you feed it into fruitful productivity?
Where is God moving, and where can you partner with Spirit?
A Reminder:
I’m in the process of updating my Substack, and many of my posts are currently free to read. You may find some articles that interest you from the past, click here to see what you can find!