In a recession, it is easy to despair and focus on what's going wrong instead of what's going right. We fret about having enough money and how we're going to get by.
When the anxiety bug hits me, I remember my Potato Parable.
As a child, I planted a potato in the ground to see what would happen. After digging a hole, preparing the soil, putting the potato in the ground and covering it up, I stood back with arms folded across my chest, waiting for something to happen. After a few minutes, I began to think that maybe this would take longer than I thought.
Every day I checked on the spot where the potato was planted and watered it when it got dried. After a couple of weeks where nothing happened, I was ready to give up. Then one day, I saw a tiny little sprout where my potato had been planted.
I didn't know if it was connected to my potato but I didn't take any chances and nurtured the seedling all summer. By the fall, it had grown into a bushy healthy plant. I was curious, though, as to what happened to my potato so I dug up the plant. To my amazement, from my one little potato tubers had grown and produced about 18 more potatoes!
This parable teaches us:
- first you have to plant the seed; if no seed is planted, what grows may not be to your liking.
- have faith, even when you don't see immediate results.
- know that the "roots" are growing to provide a stable foundation even when you can't see what's happening.
- nurture what you've planted.
- eventually your seed will mature and provide more than you had expected.
Blessings to you on your journey.
Anne, the Metamorf Maven
This material is copyrighted and may not be used in any form with the express written permission of the author.
For more information on DuPage Woman Newspaper, go to:
http://dupagewoman.com/
