Growing Stronger: Wednesday in the Word

Growing Stronger

Spring is just around the corner. Birds are chirping. Early flowers are blooming. Soon, the trees will bud and blossom.

The garden catalog I ordered from shipped my new dwarf blueberry plant. I soaked its roots overnight, prepped the patio pot, and carefully added the organic fertilizer I purchased along with the plant. Then, saying a quick prayer that the fertilizer is more powerful than my thumb of plant death (that’s the polar opposite of a green thumb, by the way), I placed the plant in the container and carefully placed soil all around it before giving it a good drink of water.

Now, I wait. I watch the weather and if we get another cold snap, I’ll have to cover the young plant. I water the blueberry bush (more like twig at this point, but I’m trying to stay optimistic). Without water, it will surely go the way of the miniature roses I planted last fall. Don’t ask.

I’m providing the soil, nutrients, water, and sunlight as best I can. It’s now up to my little blueberry bush and God to bring the growth. The roots have to establish their place in the pot and stay strong. God’s woven into the plant’s DNA what it needs to take the nourishment I’m providing and use it to grow. Eventually, if there is proper growth, I’ll reap sweet, fresh blueberries.

There will be few berries at first. But as my blueberry bush continues to grow strong and bigger each year, I should be able to gather more and more berries. Growth is necessary to sustain and increase fruit production.

Growth. I want it for my blueberry bush, but other than providing an environment conducive to growth, I cannot make my plant grow. But the growth of plants isn’t the only growth I should be concerned about in my life. It’s not even the most important.

I need personal growth. We all do. Like the blueberry bush, God’s woven into our DNA all we need to turn the right foods and exercise and rest into strong physical growth. Other than providing the proper nutrients, the right environment, there’s nothing we can do about that growth. I want to grow strong in the internal areas of my life.

God’s gifted me with a passion for writing. He’s placed in me a desire to write His truth in both my fiction and nonfiction books. I’ve had nine books published since beginning this journey. I’m proud of how all of them turned out. However, I know my writing in my first book is different than that of my ninth. What’s the difference? I’ve grown.

My prayer is that I’m growing stronger in my writing. No one wants the opposite to happen.

God gifted me with a passion and a bit of talent. But it’s been my responsibility to take this gift seriously. To provide an environment in which fosters growth. I’ve read books on the craft of writing. I follow and listen to podcasts on the craft. And I’ve attended many writer’s conferences. I’ve learned from those who are more established in this journey.

Growing stronger in any pursuit takes dedication and time. It takes commitment and being open to hearing that something we’re doing is not the best option. As an author, it means being able to look at what we’ve written, our book babies, and seeing where they’re not as perfect as we’d like to think they are. That can be difficult. After all, we’ve poured our time and our hearts into their creation.

As an author of Christian fiction and nonfiction, growing stronger in my faith is also necessary. Faith is woven into each story I tell. If I’m stagnant in my own faith, that’s going to show in what I write. The truths my heart longs to tell will ring hollow in the ears of the reader. But it isn’t just about being authentic on the page. Growing stronger in my faith isn’t just another method to writing well.

Strong faith will sustain me in the hard times I face, whether in my role as an author or outside of that role. It will lead me in all my decisions, both in writing and everything else. Growth in my faith will make me stronger in every area of my life, writing included.  It will do the same for you.

Growing stronger in my writing and my faith is a priority for me. For writing, I’ve already picked out a couple conferences to attend. I’m also reading some books on marketing for authors, as this is another area where I need growth. For faith growth, I’m being more consistent with my Bible study by taking part in a group study. I’m also trying to be intentional about meeting with and staying in contact with a close friend who encourages me in my faith. Women’s conferences are another opportunity for growth that I’ve recently taken part in and plan to again in the future.

What about you? How are you growing strong in your faith? In what other areas are you proactively growing?

Scriptures to think about regarding growth:

Ephesians 4:13-16

1 Corinthian 13:11

Colossians 1:9-10

Philippians 1:6, 9-11 and 3:12-14

Romans 12:2