Plant, Nurture & Grow
Dear Church Family,
I've been focused on sprinklers lately. In particular, the ones in our backyard. We have a sort of "zig-zaggy" piece of lawn back there, and I've been working hard to get the right combination of quarter spray, half spray, and 360-degree sprinklers to cover the yard. It's not been easy.
First, I had to replace six sprinkler heads. Five because they weren't working well, and one because I ran over it with the lawn mower. The lawn mower lesson taught me about sprinkler "swing pipes," which let you sink the sprinkler head below the blades of the mower.
After replacing the heads, they worked for a bit. But the one in the middle suddenly went from 360 degrees of spray to only 20. And the grass started to brown. So, I replaced it with a new one. But the new one was only a four-foot diameter of spray, and I needed six feet. (Evidently you have to check that part of the sprinkler head as well.)
Last weekend, I had to replace both valves because the old ones broke. That sent me down a rabbit hole of PVC pipe cement, primer, and a new pipe cutter. All of this, just to get our lawn back to being green.
Over the course of this adventure, I've learned a lot about sprinklers: how to get the right parts, how to adjust the nozzles, how to replace things when they break. I thought sprinkler management would be a one-and-done kind of project. Instead, I've found it to be a series of adjustments.
Our faith is similar. Like sprinklers, a growing faith is one that adjusts and grows with you. Faith isn't something you install, and it just works from that point forward. Faith is something you expand and grow over time.
When we start out, the stories of scripture are new. God's grace is fresh. Our understanding of God and Jesus is just beginning to take shape. But over time, we learn more about who we are and who God is in relationship with us. We dig deeper into scripture and find meaning beyond the surface. We may even understand it completely differently than when we first began.
These changes we go through are good things. God created us to grow and evolve, and our faith does the same. Have you asked yourself where you want to grow next? What part of your faith life is calling you to take a deeper dive? Is it your prayer life? Your understanding of scripture? Your sense of calling to serve? Or maybe it's a deeper connection to this community?
Paul put it well when writing to the church in Corinth: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" (1 Corinthians 3:6). Faith isn't something we get, set, and forget. It's something we plant, nurture, and grow — and God is the one who makes it flourish.
With God’s Peace,
Pastor Karl
