Storm Practice

Posted by Heather | 0 comments

Ok, ya’ll. I live in the North. We don’t have the luxury of lots of warm weather to get seeds started, grown, and produce for many things. Take tomatoes for example. They need about 60 days from seed to veggie stage. And if I plant them in early May, it’ll be middle of July before I begin to see fruit, and around August before they are ripe.

Not great when you plant 40 plants and would like to be able to can all that fruit, right?

So, we started the seeds early. The little plants are growing like weeds (no pun intended, really) and they are thriving. I was so excited about them, we told a friend of ours who has “mentored” us in the gardening ways.

“See my lovely little plants? I should have TONS of tomatoes this year!”

“Ummm…yeah, they are nice,” he said, “but, they won’t be very strong.”

Now, how on earth would he know that? I mean, seriously? They are about 3 weeks old, and have lots of time before I need to plant them in the ground. So, I asked him what made him sooo special that he would know this.

“You haven’t given them storm practice.”

STORM PRACTICE????”

He explained that as the plants grow, they need to be made stronger. Not just the plants, but the root system and the stems. And you can do this simply by placing a light oscillating fan on them for a couple of hours a day, building up to 24/7. You would not be able to turn the fan on them right away full time as they need to build up their strength. The “wind” from the fan will simulate the real wind outside, and the tender shoots will be more ready for that since they have had practice.

Interesting….

How is it that God always speaks to me when I am up to my elbows in either dried oatmeal and soap bubbles or dirt?

What He spoke to me was that we are like these plants. As a new Christian, we experience some trials, or “storm practice”. He would never let the storms of life blow us completely over, understand. But, we need to experience them so that our faith grows, our roots dig deeper to hang on, and our stems become a solid force in Him. If He let the big ones come right away, we would never be able to withstand it, and we would wither and die.

So, if you are experiencing “little storms”, understand that you need to just dig deeper into Christ, and let Him hold your stems until you are stronger. Praise Him for being able to hold you through, and allow your faith to grow.
And then, come over to my house this fall. I could sure use some help canning all those tomatoes…

Heather is a stay at home mother with 3 blessings to take everywhere with her. Teaching women to shop and save and get the most for your dollar are a vision that has been a long time in the making. She enjoys sharing her trials and triumphs at the local stores, as well as some good (and some not so good) recipes to help make those dollars stretch. Her column is a must read for the thrifty homeschool mom. Visit her blog at Titus 2 Woman.