Perfectly Planted

  So often I hear this terminology: Stuck. It is used as an expression for a feeling or a place we literally feel we are at in life. I have been warned lately to be careful around this word. Mainly because being planted can feel a lot like “stuck” when a soul grows impatient. And impatience is born of discontent, and discontent is the result of a wrong lens…

    I once was offered a “free” spot at a self help conference aimed at musicians who wanted to grow their careers. It promised to give its recipients the tools to grow their careers exponentially with ‘secrets’ of the industry (whatever that means). It felt a lot like an MLM that tells you that you can use your money to do all those things you’ve been dreaming of, but first you have to be fully devoted to that thing you’re selling, you have to give money to make money. It felt emotionally manipulative with all the music and interactive exercises; all the preying on a persons desires and their worth. Truly, what I felt this man saying was that the reason things haven’t worked out for ‘you’ is because, first - he apparently had all the answers that I needed to succeed, and second - somehow I hadn’t worked hard enough. I hadn’t put in the time and effort. And this reminds me a lot of legalism. 

    There was no discussion about timing - apparently I was in charge of my own destiny, and if it wasn’t working out the way I wanted, it was my fault. (whew! So much pressure!) There was no room for process or discovery, or even, it seemed, for making mistakes. My Gosh, what in the world would we EVER have to offer if we did not fail, or have a story to tell? If we were all just magically successful by our own efforts. And, of course, by the end of the emotionally manipulative conference that took up my valuable time (and also, btw, insisted that the music industry was filled with low vibration energy and fear, so I should just be a keynote speaker for corporate conferences because that was the only way I would ever make any money…) he locked the doors and did his high price package speech. Apparently, I had to pay more to really get the answers. I only know they locked the doors because I desperately had to pee… and had to talk my way out. 

    This probably sounds outrageous, and hopefully you never have to experience something like this. But, all this to say - he preyed on us with the word - stuck. 

  And who doesn’t identify?  

   Who hasn’t felt stuck at times?

    We are creatures of process. Being planted is vital. And it does feel a lot like being stuck. There is a pull to move forward at the speed with which you can pull up information on the internet. But we are not designed for this. We will only be deep wells if we can walk the path we are on with intention and perseverance. Nelson Mandela surely grew in wisdom in the confinement of a prison. And Corey Tin Boom in the concentration camp, Helen Keller in the confinement of senses… to be planted where they were. Planted in hardship, boredom, in sunshine, in slow molasses-like days running one into the next. Planted raising children. Planted slowly working toward dreams. Planted where God has us. 

    It’s not that I don’t believe that there is a time for change; for great shifts and all that. But the majority of life is not that. The majority of life is our every day. And when we are busy, a great percentage is spent in vehicles, or running errands, or smaller, insignificant-seeming tasks. 

All these are holy

    So, all of this to say - I am working toward contentment being where I am. I am not stuck - stuck is a lie. We are never stuck, not with God. Sometimes the doors don’t fly wide open, and we wonder why. But I know to God, timing is everything… and it’s a good thing for us. His timing is Perfect. So just for this day, I am declaring myself ‘unstuck’ and ‘perfectly planted’.

  

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