I do not have a green thumb at all.  Each year I’m determined to try my hand at a vegetable garden and each year, I basically fail.  Sometimes it’s out of my control (i.e. monster hail storms that demolish my veggies that are just starting to look gorgeous) and other times it’s my own doing.  I’m not a fan of hot weather, so I’m notorious for getting lazy in those summer months and not weeding or watering.  You know, necessary things for a garden to thrive.  This year is worse than normal.  NOTHING is happening.  I got these cute little organic seed packets weeks ago from Target, they came with a pail and everything… and so far… nothing.  They are doing nothing.  Oh why you ask?  Well, I bought the seeds, brought them home and left them on the counter.  I have no herbs, no nothing because I never planted the seeds to begin with.  I could use the excuse that “I was wanting to make sure it was “really” spring here, I don’t want a freeze to kill them.”  However, these are indoor plants.  The reality is that I THINK about planting these seeds for my herbs and that is as far as I get.  If I really want a harvest, the thinking has to be followed with action.  Consistent action at that.

This is life, right?  So many things we plan to do, but we are waiting for tomorrow… or for the stars to perfectly align.   I read this verse a couple of months ago and it pops in my head often: “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.” Ecclesiastes 11:4 NLT  It’s such a simple, honest truth.  Rarely in life is the timing for anything perfect.  We can waste a whole lifetime just waiting for the right moment, when really we just need to go all in NOW.  This can apply to anything.  I remember when we were deciding to have children, someone told me there would “never be a perfect time”.  It’s the truth.  At some point, we just had to decide that we knew we were supposed to begin our family. When we felt God calling us to adopt, we pondered every option and wondered when the timing would be right.  Truth was, He had showed us what He wanted, we had to make our move.  Once we did, He worked out the details.

I see this play out in people’s businesses all of the time.  They have goals, they bought their welcome packs, but they forget to plant the seeds for their harvest (i.e. take their products, share their journey)… or they are waiting for the perfect time.  It’s so easy to come up with excuses for why we wait.  “I want to lose at least 10 lbs first”.  “Spring is busy with our family, I’m going to wait for summer break.” “The kids are home for summer, I’m going to wait until they go back to school.” The reasons are countless and there will always be a multitude of them, I promise.  Want to hear what my reasons for waiting were?  I was afraid of being judged. That was basically it.  Once I got over it and just started doing the thing and sharing something I loved, I realized why it was ridiculous for me to allow someone else’s opinion of me to hold me back.  That was never going to change and that “condition” was never going to be perfect.  So just go for it.  Plant your garden, even if a storm is in the forecast tomorrow.  The longer you wait, the longer it is until you get to see your harvest!  There IS a second part to this though.  You can’t just plant your seeds and then walk away.  Without water, without pulling the weeds, your vegetable garden will never produce a darn thing (trust me, I know).  Consistent action, consistent nurturing is essential.  I know I’m beating this garden metaphor to death, but it’s a perfect comparison.  You have to water (post on facebook, follow up with customers and potentials, reach out to potentials).  You have to weed (troubleshoot the right combos for people, ignore the negative opinions of others and toss those in the trash, figure out what YOU are doing wrong and change it).  You have to nourish the soil (personal growth is vital, learn the products, learn the comp plan) and you have to do all of the above consistently.  Starting and stopping, well it takes a toll.  You can totally bring a garden back to life, but it takes more work than just consistently taking care of it each day!  I don’t know what your harvest will look like at the end, but I can promise if you just continue to wait, all you are going to have is soil…