A bigger pot.

Section 2

Apr 24

Yesterday, for whatever reason, I decided it was time to repot my plants. I spent the morning doing some research, of the different light and water amounts my plants like, and just refreshing my memory of each of their specific needs. And one of the things I saw was that many of them need “repotted every 2-3 years”. So I spent the day caring for each plant and putting those who looked like they were flourishing and could use some space to grow, in new larger containers.

As my hands were covered in dirt, and I held each plant in my hand, I thought of the analogy I was talking with some friends about the other week. We talked about this idea of “leveling up”. Personally, I’m not much of a gamer, but I have played a few video games in my lifetime. And if you have ever played a video game you will understand this idea of levels. Each level has an added difficulty. You generally are always going up in the game, making progress, and encountering new lands or new adventures. However, each level then requires greater skills and a higher level of difficulty.

In our lives, we can encounter this idea of “leveling up”

Now we aren’t Mario and encountering mushrooms, but we are humans who encounter life change. We are constantly encountering “new levels”. It could be a job transition, a new relationship, a new ministry, or even a devastating loss. I would guess that every person reading this has encountered some kind of “leveling up” in their life. We meet these moments of deep challenges, and dramatically different circumstances. The next level.

And this next level often has a higher level of difficulty. It requires us to grow.

And so as I was repotting plants, it reminded me of this.

If you know me, you know l loveee a good analogy. And it just hit me with potting these plants, that God often repots us.

If you haven’t repotted plants before, it’s a fairly simple process.

There are multiple reasons you may want to repot a plant. It may need to be repotted because of an issue. It may have had too much water and had root rot, so it needs a new environment. However, you can also just repot a plant if it is doing well. (And honestly, that is something you want to check before you just repot a plant. You want it to be strong and sturdy and ready to grow.) The goal of repotting is ultimately so the plants get larger, more beautiful, extending their reach, and living more full of lives.

The details of repotting though, show the difficulty it can bring.

When you repot a plant, it introduces it to this new environment to grow. To an opportunity and a space to develop new roots, to expand, and to bloom. However, it can come with difficulties. The plant can tend to feel shock as it suddenly is in a much different sized pot. Its roots will need care to adapt to the larger space. The pot needs to be big enough to grow, but it can’t be too large that the roots aren’t able to adapt.

And so I pull this all back to leveling up.

The reality is that God wants us to flourish. He is a gardener, a shepherd, who cares for his creation. He knows our possibilities and wants us to grow. In this life we encounter change. God doesn’t want us to just stay in a plastic junky little cup and stay a small plant. He wants us to bloom and to grow to our greatest possibilities. He wants us to keep leveling up. To have the perfect, stunning pot. To be our best selves and bring glory to him through our beauty.

But leveling up in life isn’t easy. It comes with difficulties. The big pot may seem overwhelming. The dirt is different than we knew before. Our roots suddenly seem so small and too weak to ever possibly keep us grounded. We can tend to question if we are ready for this pot. If we are ready for this level.

But the truth is that he doesn’t put us in a pot that we can’t handle. He cares for us in the shock. He waters us in that adjustment. He provides fertilizer with his word and he gently sits with us and cares with us. He knows our roots can do it, and he is right alongside us. He doesn’t repot us to annoy us or to ruin us. He is a good gardener who wants to see us grow. He wants us to find beauty and grow into this amazing new pot.

Now I don’t know where you are. You may be settled well into your current nice little terracota pot. You may be finally growing some roots in your container. Or you may have just been put in this huge new container and you have no idea what to do. If that is you, and if you are in a shock and encountering something totally overwhelming I hope you can find comfort in the uncomfortableness.

Leveling up and finding a bigger pot is scary. It can feel overwhelming… but like I saw yesterday with all my little plants: it is an amazing opportunity for growth. As a gardener, it is so cool to see how much my plants have grown and how they are ready for a larger pot, even if they might not see it. Sure it is an adjustment, but the result is a larger, more beautiful, and more breathtaking plant.

God doesn’t abandon us, he doesn’t do something that he isn’t going to be caring for us in. He is always with us: watering us, fertilizing us, pruning us, and standing in awe of how much we have grown.