Over the last few months there was been a predominant metaphor that has shaped the way I view life and thus my engagement with other people, which for me leads further and deeper along into how I view and relate to God. For me this image has been that of a sower. A sower does the hard, consistent work of cultivating growth in an environment that is amicable for such growth to occur. And yet, the sower does not control where the growth occurs, how quickly it commences, nor does the sower have an idea if these things will in the end work. The sower begins to trust the process of creation, knowing that the natural world is not something created by his own strength but given to him as a gift to both himself and potentially others. Still, he has work to do alongside the process. The sower surveys the land, studies it's intricacies and monitors its progress, the sower protects and and as such it is not an easy task, but one that does prove to be rewarding if the sower pays attention.
Jesus told a parable about a sower, and that in four different environments the message of the kingdom of heaven is given and four different events take place: in one place it is snatched away, in another it deteriorates quickly because it is taken in shallow form, in the third place it is choked out by the worries and anxieties we feel in life. But the fourth environment proves to be good soil which enriches the seed and produces crop, it has thus shown to have taken root in lives. What I am intrigued by in this tale is that the good soil that Jesus describes is linked to the ability to listen, not simply to just recognize noise or to differentiate sound, but to pay attention to and process what is being given. It is more than awareness, it is a deep engagement and a hopeful posture that true words may be spoken that can take root in a life and can begin a cultivation of the soul.
What I am learning right now is that what I am called to very often is to be patient and trust the process, but that doesn't simply mean "let go and let God". A trite phrase does not offer wise counsel, it offers a small bit of truth wrapped in sentimentality that does not speak to the complexity of what it means to live life in relation to God. Beginning to trust the process of how God works in life starts with our ability to listen, and that means letting go of noise. I have a lot of noise in my life, and I can easily fill up my time and the places I go with noise. But listening, really giving my attention to the idea that there may be a voice to be heard in the midst of the chaos of life requires a work that is daunting. This has so much to do with creating space, with emptying myself of things that are filler and silencing the competing voices that increase worry and anxiety. I am not good at it by any means, and yet I know what I am to do. I am to trust that there is a Voice, that this voice which may be ever mysterious and hidden at times, still longs to speak into my life words that will bring water to my thirsty soul.
Part of trying to write again, and in this form right now, is that it helps me to listen better. And so I am trying to write more consistently, to pay attention more to what God might be saying. And yet I believe God gives us other voices too, because he knows more deeply than w do that we need them. I need fellow fellow sojourners who can help me listen better, who can help me in this process. I hope I can be a voice too, and so I look forward to what might happen soon....
