I plant lettuce seeds every January: Black-seeded Simpson, Mesclun, and Buttercrunch. For me, doing so is the outward expression of an inward journey at the start of each new year. Lettuce seeds are fragile, and poking the tiny seeds into the soil is an act of faith that requires time and tending, but I anticipate April’s lettuce harvest.
As the soil slips through my fingers, I celebrate beginnings. For best results, I use a mix of peat, dirt, and sandy loam to create a soil that retains moisture, provides nutrients, and drains easily.
But I also ponder the medium of my heart where I sow seeds of faith, hope, and change. I recall how I began anew when God removed my stony heart and gave me a new heart of flesh. He tasked me with guarding it so that my words and actions reflected His character and beauty. Far more than the seat of our emotions, our heart is the medium from which everything flows and grows.
As the lettuce seedlings establish themselves, I thin them to make room for growth. When tending my heart, I take a cue from my lettuce and create space to grow into the person God created me to be. I do this by spending more time with God and His Word through prayer, study, and worship within a community of believers.
Lettuce requires daily care to flourish, and so it is with my life. Building consistency begins with examining my heart daily and aligning my thinking with God’s Word, which reminds me to think about what is good and pure. God is concerned with my thoughts and the words on my lips, for they find their origin in my heart. He wants me to speak words of praise and hope, not ones that stir division, create doubt, or spread gossip.
Lettuce flourishes in a medium that drains easily. Likewise, I thrive in God’s love that washes me clean and restores me when I surrender each day’s events to Him.
Like my spring lettuce that matures and struggles against summer’s approaching heat, my resolve is also tested in differing seasons. We guard and tend our gardens and hearts in every season of life so that January’s seeds grow into April’s lettuce.
The heart of the matter is that our hearts matter to God. Think of the ways you can guard and protect your heart each day.
Jann Mills is an emerging writer who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. She enjoys writing devotionals and short stories about experiencing God in everyday life. When she’s not writing, you will find her walking the beach or gardening on her patio. She is the proud grandmother of three awesome grandchildren: Ava, Miles, and Max.