Room to Grow

“Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breast; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.” (Alma 32:28)

Faith isn’t a perfect knowledge of things. Sometimes faith isn’t even a seed. Sometimes faith is just making a little space where a seed could possibly be planted. Sometimes we place so much pressure on ourselves to have a great, strong, perfect faith in all things and then we are hard on ourselves, or we give up, when that faith doesn’t seem big enough or strong enough. Then we tell ourselves that, because our faith isn’t strong enough, our plant is just a blade of grass next to our neighbor’s mighty oak, and that, therefore, we must not be good enough. This is the trap that Satan wants us to be in. God doesn’t operate that way. He accepts our offerings no matter how small and insignificant they may seem to us. God is interested in our intent, not our production value. All he asks is that we make a little space for faith to grow. Then when the seed is planted, that we nurture it. Little by little, over time, that seed will grow and become stronger. It will stand the test of time because we have given it a start and let it take root within us.

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: Without passing any judgement on yourself, evaluate your testimony in this moment. How strong is your faith? What does it need to grow right now? Are you in the “make a little hole where the seed can fall” stage? Is your plant in desperate need of some water? Is it stuck in a dark hall closet in need of sunshine? How can you nurture your faith today?

Mindfulness Tip: Visualize a place in your heart where you can plant a seed of faith. Imagine breathing into that space and opening it up with each breath.