clothed for cultivating

beginning a new year invites this “fresh start” mindset, the bias towards new momentum and new “resolutions”. and while I’ve never been a resolution person, it is a valuable landmark to stop and reflect as well as set new intentions for forward progress - a trail junction if you will. an inflection point.

so a question I am asking: what uncomfortable thing is the Lord inviting me to?

not that I’m a glutton for punishment. but I do believe growth requires challenge and stretching and getting uncomfortable. so there’s a healthy amount of that I want to always be open and leaning into.

back to the question.
I think in this season the answer is: cultivation.

too often I want to “arise and build”, fight, take land, conquer, slay giants, blaze trails.

so what’s harder? stay and wait.

cultivate definition: prepare for use, develop, encourage chance of prospering.

curate, abide, rooted, grounded - these are all words that have been floating in my headspace lately. and I think the holy spirit’s invitation for me now is to this soil.

what does it look like to have staying power, being sober-minded and watchful (1 peter 5:1-11)? the Lord has placed me in a spacious place, which feels different. but maybe instead of running to new battles, the call is to take root downwards to flourish upwards.

but the flourishing may come later.

cultivating implies depth and prep and sweat and perhaps obscurity. staying planted is the prerequisite to roots. and roots are required for fruit.

the work likely isn’t visible yet. the soil is being prepared for something.

and I’m told God himself will “restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish” me (1 peter 5). “rooted and established in love” (eph 3:17). “rooted and built up” (col 2:7). - sounds like cultivation work.

the Lord cultivates me as I cultivate what’s in my hands...where my feet are planted.

which brings me to clothing.
what’s the uniform for the job?
what’s the attire fit for the task?

once again, I’m more excited to put on the armor, the fighting garb, the trekking gear. but for gardening? Scripture gives other clothing options as well.

clothed in humility.
clothed in righteousness.
priestly garments. bridal adornments.
this wardrobe tends to imply presence, being, abiding, perhaps waiting.
clothing takes into consideration seasonality, functionality, fit, and audience.

am I wearing what no longer fits?
am I wearing something out of season?
inappropriate for the task at hand?

in the garden of Eden, God got his hands dirty. He formed man from dirt. cultivated humans in his image. and tasked us to continue the cultivating work.

and when we slipped up?
the first thing he did was clothe us.
covering our shame.
protecting us.
providing for us.
and He’s still shaping me in the midst of the dirt today.
and flourishing is still the end game.