All's quiet on the western front...

Sorry it's been so quiet here. We've been off wreaking havoc over in LL's living room, and I've been trying to get some baby shower invitations ready to go in the mail. Definitely more on Community and other things this week!

Preparing the Soul

My friend LL recently posted another agricultural concept over at Seedlings in Stone, this time on the practice of fallowing. We usually think of allowing a field to go fallow as doing nothing to it: letting it rest. In actuality, a farmer still conducts activity in that field; it is just not focused on producing a crop but on restoring nutrients and improving soil structure.

As I ponder this post and what it means to my life, I see that whether you are planting a crop or allowing the field to go fallow, you are working the field to be productive. It is not a time of idleness in either case. The end goal is the same. As we live in a society that expects immediate results, we are often unwilling to take the time to tend our field if it will not produce a crop. We see many examples of people skimming over appropriate preparation so they can get the “doing” of an activity or project. Sometimes it works out okay, but often without the proper foundation things eventually fall apart.

The other thought I had about this was perhaps my goal as a Christian is to focus on being fallow. My priority is to abide in Christ and grow closer to Him, and that restores the nutrients I need to grow and builds the soil structure I need to serve. It’s his job to do the actual producing of fruit in my life. I’ve thought about this concept a lot recently. I have heard many speakers and read many books that basically say to pick a fruit of the Spirit and work on improving that area of your life. While I do not disagree that it is important to be aware of how those fruits are manifesting themselves in your life, I do not believe we are supposed to work on them. We are told to abide in Him and HE will produce the fruit. We don’t have the ability to produce the fruit on our own. (And as my friend Sarah pointed out, did you ever notice that it is not the “fruits” of the Spirit, plural…it’s fruit, singular. They can’t be separated.) So maybe we should leave the crop production up to God and work on being fallow, so that when it’s time to produce a harvest, our soil is ready.

Photo: Countryside in Rwanda (2004)

The Incas and Disposable Everything

In continuing the conversation on LL’s post about Terracing, I have a couple observations:

1) The quote from the book claims that the Incas’ excellent workmanship is caused by their intention to build permanent architecture. Although slightly off the point she is trying to make, I have to question – is that really true? Did they work with excellence only because they aimed at permanence? Could it not be the other way around? Because they worked with excellence, their workmanship endured? I question this because if we take this idea to its end, then we allow ourselves to believe that if we don’t care if our work lasts or not then it is not necessary to work with excellence. And yet that very thought saturates our society: just do the least amount necessary to get by. Now, I recognize that a Cadillac solution is not necessary for every problem, but I don’t think that is the same thing as working with excellence.

2) All that said, there are similarities in the mindset of building something permanent and building something with excellence. When you are focused on permanence, you work knowing that what you are creating must last, that you will have to live with it and that it is worth your time and effort. You think about similar things when you are working with excellence: if this endures time, will I be pleased with my work? if I have to live with it, can I or would I do something differently? if this is worth my time and effort, why would I not work with all my heart to do my best?

3) Lastly, LL’s post actually commented on our “throw away society” and the effect that has on our perspective on relationships, material things and even our church. I wonder if, in part, this is related to our fierce desire to maintain our independence and our anxiety around commitment. By having the option to throw something away as soon as it no longer is useful to us, we retain some illusion of control over our lives. We don’t like to think about the consequences of our reckless disposal system (on our Earth, on other people, on the reputation of Christ) because we favor our own convenience. No strings, no commitments, no guilt…but in reality, no true satisfaction, no authentic relationships and no real meaning and purpose. Given that choice, I prefer to settle in and stay awhile.

Photo: Vineyard just outside of Florence, Italy, 2002

Smallness of Scale

My friend LL Barkat, over at Seedlings in Stone, recently began a series of posts on an agricultural book that she is reading. As usual, LL does a great job of applying seemingly unrelated topics (like farming techniques) to our every day life. Since I’m behind in commenting on her blog – and since I realize I have more to say about her topics than is probably appropriate for a comment – I’ve decided to blog on the topics here.

Her second blog explained a concept called “Smallness of Scale”. Basically, the technique of using smaller farms permitted attention to be acutely focused, with the proper attention paid to the details. LL offers some great thoughts and practical ideas for implementing “smallness of scale”, as do her readers. Overall, the idea that “less is more” is promoted.

I loved that thought and the ideas that accompanied it, and am still pondering the idea about really focusing on a smaller number of relationships, rather than many. However, one reader’s comment really struck me: Marcia said, “Tiny moments or gestures of love make me happy, small steps are big steps in my eyes, I love 'stolen moments'.” I loved that interpretation. I immediately remembered something Beth Moore said in a conference I attended yesterday (more specifically on the conference in a forthcoming post) – “God doesn’t just have the power to change our lives, He has the power to change our day.” We keep looking for God do something way out in our lives (think big), and we miss the ways and the opportunities that God wants to do something in our today (think smallness of scale). Small things happen every day that are blessings or encouragement or learnings, and if we’re always looking for that big thing – we’ll miss out on so much. Likewise, performing those small deeds of kindness and love are just as important and just as powerful (if not, sometimes, more) as those huge, outrageous acts of love. It’s amazing the response I receive every time I drop a friend a little note of encouragement in the mail, or send her my prayer for the day for her in an email or call her up just to say that I’m glad she’s my friend. When I pay attention to little things that make my husband’s day easier and that encourage him and that communicate that I love him – just little things – they touch his heart deeply and motivate him.

When I think of smallness of scale in this way (in addition to the less is more perspective), I realize it is so easy to implement. Small things seem manageable, easier to fit into my every days.

For more on Smallness of Scale, check out LL's blog here .

Photo: Crossvine in Sue's backyard, 2005