Thinning Things Out

About six weeks ago, I started a small garden. My approach wasn’t very sophisticated. I filled some cardboard boxes with soil, and planted a few seeds. The seeds sprouted but even after a month and a half, the plants are still rather small. I had many theories about why they stayed small. Maybe they didn’t get enough sun, or it could be that I watered them too much, or perhaps there was excessive fertilizer in the premade garden soil. All of this could be true, but I’ve been suspicious that the real reason they haven’t grown is because I planted too many. In my next phase of gardening, I will be thinning out the plants to test this hypothesis. 

There is a practical life lesson here as well. When progress with projects is slow, it’s often because I haven’t taken time to thin things out. Different projects compete for my attention and resources and they choke one another out. Lately, I’ve been practicing slowing down and saying no to some things so that other areas of my life have more room to grow. 

This week, I invite you to ask yourself: 

On a scale of 1-10, how overcrowded is the garden of my life? What things, big or small, am I 100% committed to keeping? What is one small thing that I am willing to cut out? What is one big thing that I might remove in order to provide more room for others?

God bless,
Dan