You Reap What You Sow

This concept of reaping what you sow has been around forever because it’s how life works. We read about it in the Bible in Galatians 6:7, but we can also see it in the simplicity of gardening. This year, I decided to plant green beans for my daughter’s Russian tortoise and my dogs. I probably didn’t do all of the fancy things that experienced gardeners do when planting, but I knew one thing. I knew that what I sowed, I would reap. I planted green bean seeds. I would one day see some green beans and that day has come. For the past few weeks, we have been harvesting green beans and all of the four-legged critters in our home are happy with what we have reaped.

In knowing this truth, that what we sow we reap, it can make a big difference in life choices, habits, etc. If you want a different outcome, you plant a different seed. If you have a goal, you look at what seeds will help you to reach that goal and those are the seeds you sow. Do you follow me?

Here’s some choices I have focused on to ensure I’m reaping what I want in life. 

1. I plant “good seeds” in my body by having nutritional shakes every day. My favorite shakes are spinach blueberry shakes, which includes spinach, blueberries, banana, oat milk, water, and protein powder. These shakes give me more energy. These shakes help me to feel fuller so I do not attempt to grab all of the “bad seeds” that end up stealing my energy and adding numbers to the scale. These shakes are made of good ingredients so there’s not the bad processed foods going into my system. 
2. I plant “good seeds” in my head by watching where I focus my attention. This includes what you hear, what you see, what you read, what you say, what you remember, etc. Everything that you interact with can plant good seeds and bad seeds into your mind and heart. The Bible notes in Philippians 4:8 that, “You’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse” (Message Translation). This means you focus on the good and true things, not the bad things, not the lies. How many times do we let anxiety get the best of us? How many seconds, minutes, and hours are wasted worrying about something out of our control or thinking about something that isn’t even true? Perhaps thinking about something that hasn’t happened or may not happen? Dwelling on things? When we let the bad in, the bad thoughts, the worries, etc., then bad comes out. Remember, you get what you plant. Imagine instead, focusing on the good. What do you have to be thankful for today? What good can you do today? Seek out the beautiful. Seek out the lovely. Seek out the goodness. Even in the dark places, you can find the light.
3. I plant “good seeds” by getting my body to move. This is so important. Do you want to get toner? Do you want to be stronger? Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to be more flexible? Do you want to get healthier? Do you want to have more energy? Too often, people want to reap these things but the sowing isn’t happening. We look to the Internet to see if there’s a magic pill or some special exercise equipment that will help us to reap the rewards. But what if instead we sow by taking a walk daily or doing some stretches? Maybe grabbing some hand weights or doing some squats? If you want to get stronger, if you want to lose weight, start taking those steps. One foot in front of the next. Find what exercise you like doing and do it. It’s time to get moving.
4. I plant “good seeds” by doing nothing. Yep. You read that correctly. I noted what you put in your body like good food and good words. I reviewed the need for good exercise too. When I think of the most important things for my second half best half life, I think of water and sleep. Simple things. Water. Lots of it. I drink over 100 ounces daily and it makes a big difference. But sleep is harder to control. You cannot always get to sleep. Water is easy to reach because you simply drink more if you haven’t met the goal. For sleep, sometimes you find yourself climbing the walls. I know too well. I spent years suffering from insomnia. The key is to try to help yourself be prepared to rest. Firstly, you can rest without sleeping. You should have a day just for rest, to take a break, relax and refuel, and have fun. Your body needs this rest. You also need sleep. Without sleep, your body has slow reactions and your mind cannot think properly. The functioning of you as a human is basically messed up without sleep. You can get confused. You can do things you don’t want to do because your guard is down to make it easy to make bad choices. How do you help yourself be prepared to sleep? Stay on a schedule if possible. Same wake up time, same bed time. A few hours before bed, stop the screen time. Turn off the TV. Put away the games and social media. Read. Listen to relaxing music. Meditate. Pray. Do not consume food a few hours before bed. Make your bedroom comfortable for you. Figure out what helps you to sleep and what gets in the way of your sleep. Make sleep goals. You’ll find as you get better sleep, your body will thank you. You will feel the difference.

These are just some of the “good seeds” that help me. Maybe some of these “good seeds” are things that you also need to work on in your own life. Take time to consider what your goals are and how you can plan to get there by planting “good seeds.” What are the “good seeds” you need to sow to reap what you want? What step can you take today to get one step closer to your goals? Don’t stop there. Start planting. And remember, the seed planting is a daily adventure. It’s not about a “diet” or an event — it’s a lifestyle. If you slack off from time to time, don’t stop altogether. Keep pressing forward and you will see results. If you put the good in, the good will come out. The best is yet to come!