The Grass Is Greener Where You Water It // Contentment + Courage

"The grass is greener where you water it"

This line was spoken to me after church last week in a conversation with a young man after the service. We were talking life and ministry... and the way the Lord has led us both down pretty different paths. I was sharing some insights into what I perceived to be rather mundane days in comparison with his more adventurous life, and he stopped me in my tracks.



"I look at you guys and think... Wow! That's where the exciting stuff is happening... on the ground level. Raising kids to know Jesus. Serving God where you are..."

"And I look at you and think its so clear to see how God is using you to take the gospel to the nations..."

We laughed.

"I guess the grass is always greener on the other side" I quipped...

And that's when he said it.

"No. The grass is greener where you water it."

I've been thinking about it ever since.

It's so true. It's so easy to look at others and see the Lord using them in amazing ways. To look at someone else's life and wonder why yours looks so uninspiring, or unattractive, or even unfair in comparison. We all know comparison is the thief of all joy, and yet its so easy to look at our little patch and allow discontentment to set in.

Which is why this little word spoken to me last week was so helpful, and clear, and encouraging. God has placed me in this life. This little patch of earth. Amongst these people. In this family. This home. This neighbourhood... And he wants me to water my little patch well. To invest time into it... and care... and be a light in this place.

And who knows, but that this little patch might grow an oak tree or two... or reap an unimaginable harvest... or allow four little seedlings to turn into strong and sturdy trees... or simply create a space of earth where green grass grows and weary souls can rest. My patch my take a battering... a few stormy gales might rage through, and there might be times where it looks unkempt and weatherbeaten. God doesn't ask me to determine the outcome... he doesn't ask me to come up with a strategy... or even a protocol to make my plants grow. He simply calls me to faithfully water my patch.

And have the courage to trust Him with the rest.