Watching grass grow

On the 11th Sunday of ordinary time we looked at Mark 4:26-34, especially the Parable of Growing Seed. Sometimes it seems like nothing much is happening during ordinary times. It’s winter and never Christmas. Life is a bit boring or seems slow, moving at the speed of a glacier.  But, ordinary time can be a time of significance; it’s a time for our roots to go deep in order for growth to happen. 

The farmer in the parable sows seed. The seed sprout and grow even though the farmer doesn’t even know how it happens. Most of the time we don’t know how we grow. Often we don’t know that we are growing at all. This lack of awareness is pretty normal. 

When we sleep we’re not aware. But, it’s during sleep that children grow bigger, muscles recover from work and getter stronger, and our waking input becomes real knowledge. Watching someone sleep is like watching plants grow. It’s a long, slow process with real results. 

A good farmer will regularly check on the seeds they planted to see how they’re going. We, too, have a responsibility to regularly check in on our growth. Paying attention to the garden of our lives seems boring at times. Yet, we can develop the skill of noticing. We can also utilizing other people’s noticing skills. With another pair of eyes, sometimes it’s easier to see the growth during this ordinary time. We might discover that boring and slow is a good thing!