Kale is like Money, or Whatever Else You Are Greedy About
I was cutting back the kale to bag up and take to a couple of people at the office. This is a nice sized plant that grows well and my husband and I have not yet acquired the taste for it enough to be able to eat all that was there. So I thought there are probably a couple people who might enjoy having some, not to mention from what I hear it is pretty pricey at the store.
Naturally my brain begins to weave itself a pretty little web as my thoughts jump from 'I bet so & so would like this' to 'Look at some of these stems!' I couldn't help but notice how some had gotten so big that they had fallen over and onto the ground. I could see some stems that needed to be trimmed back because they were left too long from the last harvesting. These stems, now fading to a yellow color and dried out, were in the way of the new little sprouts budding through. Some pieces were smaller and hadn't been able to break out from the bigger leaves and grow to their full potential. And still some had become food for whatever bug that had decided to snack on some kale.
As I noticed all these things and then step back to look at a mostly bare kale plant now I could remember what it looked like before the 1st time wee harvested any of its leaves. It was this great big, full, green plant. Very pretty. Then when we got right down onto it we noticed how the leaves were pretty much fighting for the room. Most were dead and no longer usable and needed pulled out, others were so little and flimsy that they were just drooping right over.
So how did my brain end up on Kale is Like Money, or whatever else causes you to be greedy? Well let me tell you. I heard a voice this morning saying 'Why are you taking all of that kale to the office? Take only 1 bag and put the other 2 in the fridge at least. If not just put it all in there!' Then I started to go back and forth with this little guy. 'There's no way my husband and I would eat all of that. It would ruin and we'd have to throw it out.' And so on and so on. This happened for a moment then I remembered some things that I had heard said and that have always stuck with me. 'Money only becomes poisonous when you can't let go of it.' I remembered about the rich young ruler wanting to follow Jesus and he told him to go and give all his possessions then he can come follow him. I remember the woman and the alabaster jar, pouring out all of her best most expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus. I remember the 1st generation church, after the Day of Pentecost they all met together daily and ate with each other and were doing life together 'sharing everything'. This was so much so that a man and his wife sold their land and 'gave all the money' to the church, but because they lied and tried to deceive the Holy Spirit they literally dropped dead.
My mind was full of all of these stories when I remembered one more thing. The kale plant at the beginning, with so much of the plant dying and wasting away. I also remembered how it looked the next few days after we harvested it and cleaned it up. It was just as big and just as full, but this time it was full of new life.
At this moment I have no other option but to pose the question, What is it that you have in your life that is keeping you from new life? What is is that you are holding on to, not wanting to share, give away or let go of that is like this kale plant; struggling, withering, dying? You see we can either harvest that kale and give some away or we can let it set there and wither and rot away. Then no one gets any use of it. What is your kale plant? I challenge you today to just let go of some of it, in some form or fashion. As long as what you possess becomes a little less...
This might just be your first step to new, more abundant life just like the kale plant!
~Awaken Us~
Brenna Stanford
