How to cultivate seeds that bear fruit, not thorns.

Cultivate

By definition cultivate is to prepare, get ready, begin, or tend to. The breaking up of soil to prepare earth for planting or sowing. It also means to acquire or develop a quality, sentiment or skill. To foster growth, to improve, care, study, refine, or elevate.

Connection 

Connection can be defined as a relationship in which a person, thing or idea is linked with something else. To become joined.

We are all cultivating connections in our lives every day. Whether we are  aware of those connections is another matter. What we focus on is what we move towards, and what we move towards is what is being cultivated. Our attention therefore becomes the magnet which draws things into our lives.

Cultivate Connection

We really do as the bible says, reap what we sow. So simple, yet so profound. For the farmer who desires to harvest potatoes, he must first prepare the land; choosing to plant potatoes and making the choice(s) to do what is required to cultivate potatoes. And by golly he will reap a harvest of potatoes, no surprise there. He made a conscious decision of what to plant.

"We are all cultivating connections in our lives every day. Whether we are aware of those connections is another matter."

For many of us, if we were to compare our lives to that farmer it may look more like we are randomly tossing seeds around without rhyme or reason. Perhaps it might look as if we're not even paying attention to what we're planting. In other cases we're completely unaware we're even a farmer. Months later it's harvest time and we're left wondering where in the world did all this come from?

Friends, what we cultivate we will eat of. What we sow we will reap. What we focus on becomes the reality of our lives. We're responsible for and connected to that which we choose to cultivate, regardless of whether we're aware we're sowing seeds or not.

Known or unknown, we are constantly building connections. So the question becomes, what kind of seeds are you planting in the garden of your life today? What kind of connections are you cultivating? Are you aware that everyday, from the moment you open your eyes to the moment you drift asleep, you are in fact that preverbal farmer? Are the seeds you're sowing the kind of seeds you want to grow and harvest?

"So the question becomes what kind of seeds are you planting in the garden of your life today?"

I want to invite you into a simple time of observation and activation. To go beyond just reading some ideas on a blog, but to take a few minutes to engage with The Spirit of God. Maybe He has something He wants to highlight to you. Why not take a couple of minutes and listen?

Observation 

Take a moment and close your eyes. (Wait, read the paragraph first then close your eyes!) Take a few deep breaths and allow yourself to get quiet and sit still. Then ask yourself what stood out to you as you read this post. Did anything stir in you? Pay attention to your response and remember there is no right or wrong answer. What thoughts or emotions surfaced? Become aware of how you were affected. (Now you can close your eyes.)

Activation 

Ask the Lord if there is anything He wants to show you about cultivating connection in your own life? Sit, breathe and listen. What connections are you sowing that are growing fruit? What connections are you sowing that are growing weeds and thorns? Are there any connections God wants to highlight that you're completely unaware of?

This has been an exercise in awareness. As we increase our ability to be more aware of our thoughts and feelings, this awareness is the very thing which becomes our invitation into a deeper relationship with God.

The more aware we become, the more we begin to partner with the Holy Spirit. The more we partner with Him, the more we begin to plant good seeds in our lives. Seeds that will bring the kind of harvest we truly desire.

Stick Around, We're Just Getting Started

We are so glad you have joined us! Stick with us here as we journey to Cultivate Connection:

• with God
• with self
• with thoughts
• with emotions
• with health
• with wisdom
• with identity
• with vision

And the list goes on! You get the idea. There is so much to explore together!

Photo Credit @majapetric