Pastor Cara Scriven, Puyallup UMC
I love potatoes in almost any form—mashed, fried, baked, chips, etc. So this spring when my potatoes started to grow eyes, I decided to try to see if I could get them to grow some roots. To my surprise, after weeks of sitting above cups of water, they did just that. Once the roots grew substantially, I cut the potatoes and planted them in the ground.
For much of the next few weeks, I thought I had done something wrong as I could see nothing growing. Perhaps, I had put them in the ground too soon or not soon enough. Or maybe I dug the hole too deep and the sprouts would never find the sun.
I was so excited the first day I saw something green near where I planted the potatoes. Until I realized a few days later, that it was a weed. A week later, I discovered five new sprouts pushing themselves out of the ground right where I had planted the potatoes. I couldn’t contain my excitement!
Last week, however, I noticed that some of my plant leaves were being eaten. I emailed an expert who thought that maybe I had potato bugs. The following day it rained, and the slugs came out of nowhere. It was like every slug in the valley had found our yard. Patrick and I picked every single one we could find, put out some beer traps, and continue to hunt for slugs daily. Our plants are currently looking much better.
As I was thinking about my experience growing potatoes, I realized it is similar to our spiritual lives. Whether we convert to Christianity or grow up in the church, there is a time in our lives when faith begins to take root. The roots spread out looking for the living water that will sustain it through the trials of life. In those early years, it seems like the water is so near and we drink every drop offered.
Eventually, there comes a time in our lives when we feel like we have been chopped up and put in the ground. Mothers and fathers of our faith have called this time “the dark night of the soul”. It is a time of great change but it often feels to us like we’ve lost everything. Many of the faithful will articulate that they have doubts about whether God is real and that they may even find it difficult to participate in church activities during this time.
Much like our potato plants though new life is created in the dark. If we allow the roots of our faith to find new living water, we will arise from the earth seeing the world in a whole new way. Because we so desperately want out of the darkness, we will accept any sign of green. Yet, we should be careful because a weed will not sustain us.
Once we have sprouted there are still potatoes bugs, beetles, and slugs that will try to eat us and our faith. We will need to create habits and practices that keeps these faith eating creatures off of our leaves. If we don’t, we risk losing our trust in God all together.
Our spiritual lives are not easy. Faith, prayer, hope, grace, forgiveness do not come easy even to the best of us. For our spirituality to flourish, it requires hard work, constant attentiveness and focus, and a desire to continue to learn from our mistakes. This, I believe, is one reason why Jesus says that the road is narrow and only a few will find it.
On top of this, large societal events like wars, pandemics, and unrest can effect our spiritual lives. In the same way, smaller life events like the death of a loved one, career changes, the beginning and ending of a marriage, and merging church communities can also effect our spirituality. Some times these experiences will be bumps in the road. Other times, they will shake our faith.
There is no shame or guilt if you find yourself in the dark. It is not your fault and God does not think you have failed. It is much more helpful to see these moments as times of transformation and a process that can deepen our faith and reconnect us with God.
As our churches transform from two separate identities into one and as the church transitions into the digital world, this is a time that can transform our spiritual lives. While it may feel at times like darkness is all around us, it will be important to remember that new life will come. And when it does, let us rejoice and prepare for the feast.