How Does Your Garden Grow? A Look at Watering the Soul

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 A Look at Watering the Soul

Watering the Soul

Spring has finally sprung in full force!  Although, if you live anywhere in the Pacific Northwest, you may have experienced winter’s last hurrah in the form of a wild snowstorm this past weekend.  Here in Boise, the snow fell ferociously, giant flakes the size of large cotton balls splattering down for most of the morning.  Then, in true Pacific Northwest style, the skies cleared, the sun came out, and the temperatures rose to nearly 70 degrees in the afternoon.  My husband aptly commented, “Go home, Mother Nature.  You’re drunk!”

Now, our lawn is luscious green, needing to be mowed a second time already.  Flowers are blooming brightly and leaves are popping out everywhere.  It’s almost as though spring is trying to play catch up after the long, hard winter.  As I watch the lovely flowers bloom and enjoy the beautiful green grass and trees, I’m reminded that our souls need water just as much as the plants do.

Right now, there is an abundance of water.  The rivers and canals are full and overflowing as the snow melts off and rain falls.  It’s easy to forget that later on as summer approaches we will need to be thoughtful about our water use.  We will need to intentionally water our lawn and flowers to maintain the same, happy color.

In a post last fall, we looked at the old saying “The grass is always greener…”.  So many young women look at other’s lives and wish that theirs looked like someone else’s life.  Today, we’ll take a look at one of the ways we can grow our own lives into flourishing gardens.  We will find out how to bring joy and satisfaction not only to ourselves but to those around us!  And, don’t forget to scroll to the bottom and check out this week’s Funtastic Friday post!

There are many things that go into growing a healthy garden or cultivating a lush, green lawn.  The same is true for our lives.  The more effort one puts into one’s life, the happier and healthier that life will be.  Let’s call these things our “tools.”  Today, I want to look at one of those special tools!

Tool #1: Water

One of the most important gardening “tools” is water (or the watering can or hose used to carry the water).  Every plant must have plenty of water to grow, and so every life must have enough water to be all it can be!  Through watering, plants receive the necessary nutrients to grow and flourish.

We’ll call our water “intellectual stimulation”.  Watering our souls is deeply important.  Watering delivers all kinds of good things to plants.  In the same way, watering your soul pours in knowledge, understanding, wisdom, life perspective, and more.

Watering Life

Read and study, listen and learn on a daily basis.  Before you panic and think I am talking about “school,” let’s think this over.  One way to water your soul is reading.  Read widely, both fiction and non-fiction.

  • Read the Bible to familiarize yourself with God’s Word.  The Bible is filled with a broad range of wisdom that has endured for thousands of years.
  • Read informational books and papers to learn new skills and information.
  • Read stories to learn about how people act and react in many situations.
  • Read histories to learn from the past, and read for fun as well as for information.

The more you read, the more you will learn.  The broader your knowledge and comprehension will be.  The more you will know about the world you live in.  And you will be better equipped to flourish in that world!

As you read and learn, you can begin to filter what is right and wrong.  You will begin to identify good and evil.  You will know what you want to incorporate into your life and what you don’t.

Other ways to Water the Soul

There are many other ways to water the soul:

  • Talk with people to discover their beliefs.  Let them share the wisdom they have learned and the character qualities that make them who they are.
  • Observe the world, watching people’s actions.
  • Listen to music.  Discover the heart-cry of many artists and composers who express themselves through song.

Each person has a deep need to connect beyond themselves.  This connection takes place on a spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical level.  Many young women today limit their knowledge to what they see and hear through media.  They listen only to those they see as admirable.  They never look beyond this to see what is real and what is false, what will help them and what will harm them.

We live in a world where information is at our fingertips!  So few people take advantage of this.  Growing up, I read all the time.  I still love to read, study, and learn.  I don’t read just because it’s fun, but because I love to grow, and that is what watering my soul does for me!!

Take a moment to reflect on your life.  Do you water your soul regularly, or are you slowly dehydrating your life by limiting the nutrients you take in?  Watching movies and reading glamor magazines can be fun and informative, but don’t forget to mix in a balanced lifestyle of wisely-chosen information-gathering.  Alone, these things do nothing more than giving us a twisted, unhealthy outlook on life.  We become just like that young lady who watched her neighbor’s garden grow in my last blog post.  Make sure your life is well-watered with a healthy variety of brain food.  Soon, you will find that you are developing a well-rounded, vibrant character.

What are your favorite ways of watering your soul?

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