Tanya is one that I have gotten to know more so in the past month and it's not by coincidence that we have more in common that I thought! She, too, has a passion for writing and you know how I love to encourage others to share - so I told her anytime she felt like she had something she wanted to share to please pass it on and I would post on my Bundle of Twigs - We're Better Together blog and facebook page!
So here you go!!! Please show her some love!
Tanya states, "I'm 47 years old, newly converted introvert who made the decision to seek her identity in Christ Jesus. May the words that I write be acceptable in His sight, my Lord and my Redeemer."
The Importance of Mulching
For the last several weeks, the first five words of Mark 4:32 have been needling at my spirit, "Yet when it planted, it grows". Those words have been on a loop in my brain. It just kinda pops up whenever it feels like it. Washing dishes? Yet when planted, it grows. Running errands, yet when planted, it grows. You get the idea. So I did what any good Christian would do. I prayed, "Lord, please make this thought stop!" 
Before I could even finish my request, I heard the faint still voice of the Holy Spirit, "ummm, NOPE".
Tanya being Tanya, I tried debating/defending my position, "I am planted but its not working! I go to church, I serve, I give, I pray, I study the bible, I attend small group, what am I doing wrong?? To a large degree, I still felt disconnected, like my roots were carelessly dangling, not planted. I went back to God again, Lord, please give me vision to see what I'm not seeing. The Holy Spirit put it in my heart to look up the intricacies of farming. Yeah, I know, God works in mysterious ways
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Moving right along, I start researching farming and planting and wouldn't you know it, I come across a word that I know, but I really don't know what it means: MULCH.
While studying the topic, I read this sentence: A newly planted tree's best friend is mulch!
OK Holy Spirit, I hear ya, I think we might be onto something!
Further investigation (quick google search) informs me that mulch plays an integral role in the planting process:
1. Weed suppression
2. Slows moisture evaporation
3. Gradual breakdown of underlying soil to improve the soil's texture.
Hmmm....ever think God is trying to tell you something???
Soooo, the thread that links planting to subsequent growth is mulching??
Ummm, God, you know I'm not a farmer, right? What does any of this have to do with me??
LIGHTBULB MOMENT!!!
Planting + Godly Community (Relationships) = Spiritual Growth!
Much like what mulch does for trees, relationships do for us:
1. Suppress the growth of negative influences (weeds)
2. Promotes the growth of God's word in our hearts by engaging with fellow believers, decreasing loneliness and isolation (evaporation)
3. Gradually breaks down the underlying soil (our hearts) and improving its texture (becoming less like us, more like Christ)
If you're anything like me, you might find yourself spending too much time focusing on the outcomes of situations rather than the process that gets us to the outcome that aligns with God's will for our lives. I was "planted", BUT, I wasn't allowing the soil (my heart) to be cultivated and tilled by God through his servants. I'm a recovering loner and my spiritual growth was being stunted by my unwillingness to reach out, let others in. The enemy has a way of perverting legitimate needs (like connection) that we were created with, thus diminishing the value some of us put on those needs after negative experiences. I was "doing" all the right things, but not "being" transformed. Continual conversion is achieved through community. Yes, God tells us in Proverbs 4:23 to guard our hearts with all diligence, however, we're given the tool with which to guard it in Ephesians 6:14, the breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness is simply in right standing with God, a right RELATIONSHIP, with God. Having a real relationship with God guards the heart better than LifeLock or Brink's ever could!
Now, here comes what could be the difficult part about this whole mulch business, OK? Most of the "mulch" God sends your way probably won't be familiar. It won't look like you, walk like you, talk like you, probably won't always agree with you. Guess what? That's on purpose. Familiarity can be the breeding ground for stagnation. Sustainable growth happens past your comfort zone. Let God till that soil and water all those seeds He placed in you. We really are better together and here you thought that was just a catchy phrase Jenny came up with to name her blog! So just remember, they're not strangers, they're your specially designed mulch that God sent to cover you through the process.
Sooo, who's your mulch???
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