Are You Feeling Pressured?

Is anyone besides me a bit tired of hearing how pressure turns coal into diamonds? How we should welcome pressure because God uses it to refine us into “jewels”? Every time I hear this illustration, my first thought is that coal is lifeless. There’s a big difference between lifeless rock and life that grows, develops, and can be killed by external forces. To be frank, that illustration did little to encourage me to welcome it when I’m feeling pressured! Until . . .

Until I learned something I had never heard before. And no, this has nothing to do with coal and diamonds, and everything to do with life. If you have ever grown microgreens, you may know where I’m going with this. Most microgreens grow best when feeling pressured!

I recently learned the ideal way to grow microgreens from seeds is to plant them in a large tray, then lay an empty tray or another flat surface over the soil. Next, weight the covering tray with approximately ten pounds (depending on the size of the tray and type of plant) of bricks, books, gym weights, or anything else until the greens germinate.

My first question was, Why? Wouldn’t the fragile seedlings die under the weight as they attempt to break through the soil to find sunlight? Isn’t that an unfair match—ten pounds of brick vs. tender seedlings?

And yet, microgreen farmers tell us added weight is beneficial for growing healthy plants. Benefits include:

• Preventing the soil from drying out
• Facilitating tight contact between the seed and the soil
• Encouraging root growth
• Developing strong stems
• Protection from insects and other pests

Hmmm . . . are you seeing the same parallels I’m seeing?

Parallels for Us

God allows difficulties into our lives, whether periods of waiting, trials, or suffering for many of the same benefits. These periods:

• Motivate us to spend more time in God’s Word
• Cause us to seek comfort and intimacy with God in our renewed or extended quiet times and all through the day
• Encourage our growth of deep spiritual roots as we look back to the times we grew in our relationship with the Lord during past struggles
• Help us develop strong character as we change our priorities and focus on spiritual growth
• Protect us from trivial distractions that sap our time and energy, drawing us to temporal pursuits instead of pursuits that have eternal value.

And there’s more! Different microgreens need different levels of weighted covers and different timeframes.

All microgreens do not respond to the same weight levels and some don’t do well with any weighting added to the top tray. Also, while the weight should be removed after four days for some, others need up to seven days.

Speaking of Jesus, God’s anointed, Matthew 12:20 (NIV) quotes a passage from Isaiah. “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” God knows what each of us needs, from the mightiest to the lowliest, and He meets us at our individual points of need.

Are you feeling pressured today? Keep on keepin’ on, lean into the Lord, and grow into the purpose He has for you!

Sources:

• Joyce Hoskins
• Jason Hoskins (Photo)
• 8 Reasons Why Microgreens Need Weight for Optimal Growth (microgreensilo.com)