“Do not
be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever
sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever
sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Galatians
6:7-8
In the back of my childhood home on
Summer Street, my Pop made a garden. I remember very clearly helping him from
time to time planting onions and tomatoes. I helped him water and pick out
weeds and of course, the best part, I helped him pick the fresh veggies for
supper time.
God brought these memories to mind
this week, as I’ve been cultivating my own garden. Not a real one, though. It’s
ironic that I spent so much time with Daddy in that garden and I grew up with a
black thumb. As my neighbor Elli says, I kill silk plants.
My garden is one that I’ve learned
about recently while reading a book called Truly
Fed by Gari Meacham. It’s a book about finding freedom from disordered
eating and I highly recommend it. In
Truly Fed, Gari teaches the principle of sowing seeds to God as a way to
kill gluttony. She bases her observations on Galatians 6: 7-8.
Gari explains:
Sowing describes the action of scattering seeds, then
nurturing and caring for their growth. Paul highlights that whatever persons
sow – what they take their time doing, put their efforts into – will be what
their lives reflect.
Sowing to the flesh involves eating
when I’m not hungry, eating more than I need and eating to fill up discomfort
or some other emotion. I understand
this. Extremely well.
Sowing seeds to the Spirit involves
making choices that replace those eating choices. They are actions we choose
over another action.
So this is what I’m doing. I’m back
in that small town in West Texas and I’m planting seeds. Here’s what it looks
like:
Monday I went to King Soopers for
some chicken broth to make in a lemon garlic chicken entrée. I saw some corn
bread mix. Nothing wrong with corn bread, but I don’t need to eat it at night.
I told myself, “No.” But I didn’t stop there. I decided to sow a seed to the
Spirit. I prayed “Father, thank you for corn bread. Thank you for all the times
I’ve eaten it. Thank you that You can satisfy me more than corn bread ever
will.”
Yesterday, I chose to put the
treadmill on an incline of 4 and walk. I’ve never done this and it didn’t take
long for me to resemble an old lady fountain in the middle of the gym. I was
dying. I chose to sow a seed. “God, help me. Thank you for the gift and it is a
gift, to be able to move my legs. Thank
you God, for inclines that will make my legs stronger.”
This morning I had a hankering for
a donut. Nothing wrong with donuts. I was near the donut store and instead of
driving over there for an apple fritter, I decided to sow a seed to the Spirit.
I took a moment and got quiet and said, “God, you know I want a donut. But I
don’t need a donut. Give me strength to just keep moving away from the donut
store.”
According to Romans 8:6, sowing
seeds to the Spirit lead to peace and joy. Just like those blue-sky summers in
Van Horn, Texas, where I stood with Daddy and a bag and picked the vegetables, some
day, I will reap the benefits of what I am sowing today.
Sounds simple, but for me it is
new. And since I’ve been in this battle for so long, new ammo is just what I
need. This will work in many areas of your life, not just weight loss. Try it.
And watch how the Spirit will make your garden grow.
