The Parable of the Pot-Bound Plant

          If you have known me for longer than about a half an hour, you probably know that I am not a fan of big life changes, particularly ones I didn’t choose.  Eventually I adapt and learn to love and thrive in the new circumstances, but it is a hard process and leaving the familiar is very difficult.  Moving has always been that way for me.  We moved five times as a family and I was devastated every time.  I eventually came to think of a big change in my life as if I were a plant that had been pulled out and left without roots.  Eventually as I was planted in a new place, my roots would grow deep again and I would learn to thrive…knowing that it was entirely possible that eventually I would be pulled up again and have to regrow roots and the cycle would just continue over and over again.

I will always remember being in the kitchen at a Young Women/Young Men activity on May 8^th, 2018 when someone said “Hey, did you hear the announcement that the church is leaving Scouting?” I read the news article on my phone and while I was excited for the new program, I was sad to see the association end, and more than a little nervous for my job future, particularly in Utah.  As time went on and Friends of Scouting donations drastically declined and people showed less and less interest, my worries grew, but I had faith that Heavenly Father was aware of me and my friends and would help us.  As time went on and things drastically changed, I prayed and prayed for a miracle that somehow all four of us at our office would be able to stay.  But that was not to be.  On March 31^st, the decision I had been dreading for almost two years happened, three out of the four of us, including myself, were let go.  I had definitely had struggles and difficult times over the four years I was there, but I really loved my job and the people I worked with.  Despite having faith and trust in Heavenly Father that it would all work out, I was heartbroken.  Once again, I felt like I had been ripped up and left without roots.

One of the last fun things I had done at my office was start my little flower garden plant.  I moved it around to different windows in the office depending on where the light was, misted it 2-3 times a day, and one of the first things I did in the morning was check to see how it had grown over night.  It was great fun.  About a week and a half after I had been laid off, my plant started to wilt. One single flower bud had opened up but the rest of it was dying.  With my recent loss, I was desperate to find a way for my plant to be okay and thrive again. I researched what the problem might be—was I watering it too much, was I watering too little? Maybe it seems silly, but I began to pray that my plant would be okay again. After a few days, it didn’t look any better.  Finally my dad suggested that maybe it needed to be re-potted.  I hadn’t thought of that, as I don’t have much experience with plants.  That night, as I went to bed I had a clear picture in my mind of running a butter knife around the edge of the pot to help re-pot the plant.   I knew that was what needed to happen.   The next day, my mom helped me.  As we moved the plant from one pot to the other one, my mom said that the plant was definitely pot-bound.   “What does that mean?” I asked. She explained that the roots didn’t have any room to grow and that’s why the plant was wilting.  Within in a few hours of being put in another pot, my dear little plant perked up and I was so relieved.

The next morning I was getting ready for the day, when something extraordinary happened.   I saw in my mind the way my plant looked when we transplanted it to another pot…the roots were still intact.  Then came a sweet revelation into my heart that not only comforted me, but completely changed the way I think about change.  It went something like this.  “You haven’t understood.  I am trying to preserve and protect your roots, not destroy them.  You have never lost your roots, they are the core of who you are.  They will always be with you.  You have just been moved from pot to pot sometimes because you have become pot-bound and can no longer grow in this place. There are other places and people you need and who need you.  I know you feel sad.  I know you wish you could have stayed.  But trust me, you are not without roots.   I’ve got you.  I am the Master Gardener and I am preparing a wonderful new place for you to grow, thrive and blossom. “

  

Today my plant has dozens of blossoms on it and has and grown so much that I will be re-potting it today.  I am so grateful for this goal and for a loving Heavenly Father who timed things so perfectly that I will always have this precious parable to treasure and learn from all my life.  I am still sad about the loss of my job but I know that when you lose something you love it’s okay to be sad.  I know that I will be okay.  I know my friends will be okay.  I know that Scouting will be okay. God is the Master Gardner and He is always creating something beautiful. 

"Live Love Now" One of the Most Successful Books I've Ever Read

How do you measure a successful life? Ralph Waldo Emerson once defined it this way: “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.” Could the success of a book be measured the same way? Yes, it can.  Inside the summer-sky-blue cover of “Live, Love, Now” lies a safe haven for parents, grandparents, and anyone who loves a child.  Think for a moment about the precious children who are within your sphere of influence. What do you want most for them?  Do you want them to savor and experience their one precious life to the fullest? Do you want them to love and be loved, and use their unique gifts to bless the world? Do you want them to live fully present, knowing with assurance that who they are today matters more than they were yesterday? Then “Live Love Now” is the book for you.

           

The idea for “Live Love Now” was born out of an inspired exercise Rachel did when she gave a speech to a middle school audience.  She gave them all index cards and then asked this question, “If you could give your parents or the world one message, what would it be?” The answers came…and they changed her world.  Thanks be to God for that divinely inspired question and for this woman who decided she wanted to listen, really listen, and then lend her own unique voice to be an advocate.   Through her classic storytelling of real life examples, soul-searching reflective questions, and examples of index-card messages, Rachel inspires us as she talks about topics such as phone and social media usage, grades and self-esteem, mental health, and unconditional love.  She uses her background as a special needs teacher, an author and motivational speaker.  But at the heart of it all, she is the parent of two teenagers; who just like the rest of us, is doing the best she can, learning from her mistakes, and trying to be a little bit better today than yesterday, as she inspires her children to live, to love, and to be present in the here and now.

            

 “Let nothing distract us from doing the most wonderful thing are here to do—live.” 

             

“No matter what mistakes you make today, tomorrow, or throughout your life, I will always love you.  I will never turn my back on you.  We can get through anything together.”  

“Don’t get ahead of yourself—stay right here.  Don’t get lost in the past—stay right here.  Love in the moment.  This is where life is.”

           
 Beautiful words aren’t they? They have a way of helping you inspired, anchored and comforted. As you read and let Rachel’s words absorb into your heart and mind, don’t be surprised if before too long you discover soul-building words and phrases coming forth in your own voice, inspiring, anchoring and comforting your own people.  Don’t be surprised if old wounds of the heart find a soothing balm in the pages.  Don’t be surprised if while you read about how to strengthen children against an inner bully, you find your own inner bully losing its power.  I’m not the same person I was after reading this book and after years of savoring Rachel’s blog, and her books, I know perfectly well the reason why.  It is because to choose to read Rachel Macy Stafford’s words is to choose to let your heart blossom and change for the better.  I invite you to read “Live Love Now” and discover for yourself.  Again, don’t be surprised if you find yourself letting go of “successful” expectations you had for you and your children.  After all, “to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it could be the people we love the most?