I bought a couple little seed kits from Target last spring. They were in the Dollar Spot and I thought that my kids would have a great time growing things. As such, I picked them up and brought them home... fully intending to plant them with the kids. They sat on the counter for a really long while. Until about a month or two ago. I was cleaning up that counter and had my daughter come help me plant them. Now, you should know, I didn't have high hopes for them. After all, my thumb is definitely not green. And they were on the Dollar Spot. So not the highest quality. But one can hope right? And hope we did. We placed one little kit of strawberry seeds and one of tomato seeds in the kitchen windowsill where the best sunlight would be. The strawberries molded away. Nothing sprouted. But the tomato seeds took off. We had to go buy some clearance plant pots to separate them with. I had about 4 little seedlings in each of the 3 pots I had gotten. Then they shot up further and we had to buy bigger planting pots. We separated them further. Again they shot up. Maybe from the Miracle Grow potting soil we had gotten. Maybe from the sun and water and gentle care. Whatever you want to say it is from, they have been growing and growing. We had to buy more pots so that it could be one per pot.
One thing I have noticed about these plants, is their unwavering growth towards the sunlight. In the morning, I'd check to make sure they had enough water and they would be growing sideways towards the sun. I'd turn the pot and by evening, they were again tilting in a completely different direction towards where the sun had been. It was fascinating to watch. They grew towards that which gave them life and sustenance.
I've been thinking on this little experiment for quite some time. The comparison of my own life to the tomato plants. No matter who we are, what we do, and what our life goals are, we are seeking to grow in some way. We might be seeking wealth, knowledge, perfect health, career success or religious growth. Maybe we have multiple goals in these categories, but everyone is seeking something. Even the laziest of us are looking for something in life. We are growing towards those goals. The only question we should be asking is "Why?" Why are we going in that direction? What will come from striving towards those goals?
Or perhaps the question should be, "Is this a healthy goal?" It might be that we are growing towards something because it feels good and gives us the fuzzies. Like wealth. You can do amazing things and life can be considered good when you have a lot a money. But what do we really gain? How about in relationships? Happiness lasts as long as things are going well. But is it the right choice to be in it? Will it last a lifetime? Or is that we are seeking something that won't last, but serves us well now?
I believe that its a healthy practice to reconsider life goals. To think about where we stand and where we are going in life. We need to reevaluate what we hold dear. Is it taking us towards a light?
Or is that just the oncoming train about to smack us down?
What is at the end of your tunnel? Where is your path taking you?
