Cultivate
By: Lara Casey
A Grace-Filled Guide to Growing an Intentional Life
May 2020
I have never read a book I have been able to relate to more, than this one! Lara Casey hits the nail right on the head with her book, Cultivate. Her honest, real, and life changing advice really makes you think and look at the world around you.
Casey is very transparent with her audience as she shares personal stories about her life, marriage, children, her business and more. And it’s not just the pretty stuff- she shares the messy stuff, too. As an avid gardener, she relates a lot of her personal experiences to experiences she has had in her garden. Her underlying message: in order to grow an intentional life, we need to cultivate what matters.
Casey and her family are believers, so she not only uses the metaphor for her garden, or her life in general, but also in reference to cultivating her relationship with God.
“God is the Master Gardener who makes our lives fruitful”
After acknowledging that she could not do so many things at once, and do them well, Casey turned to the One who would guide her, go before her and prepare the path for her: God. If you are reading this, you too have probably experienced a similar situation. A busy social calendar, deadlines for work, personal goals and dreams you wish to accomplish, family gatherings, etc. Is it possible to do several of these things, or all of these things at the same time? Yes, it is. But can you do them well-no. You cannot commit to fully being in every place, or situation, and giving all of your time and attention to everyone and everything vying for it. It is impossible to be everything for everyone. And I know this first hand. As a recovering people pleaser, I have always struggled with saying no. I thought saying no would be rude, and people would stop inviting me to do things, or go places. But over the last few years, saying “no” has been a God-send.
Like Casey, I have had to learn that saying no is not rude, but rather important. Saying “no” not only prevents me from being over-committed or spread to thin, but it allows me to take care of myself. You know the saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup”? It is true. You cannot be everything to everyone if you aren’t taking care of yourself first. You have to know your limits, know when you cannot do something on your own, and you have to know how to ask for help. Yes, it is easier said than done, and that’s why it takes practice. That’s where God comes in.
“Choose cultivating over keeping up”
The idea of cultivating what matters is one of the main focuses of Casey’s book. She dissects all of the moving parts of her life, and after a couple of hard seasons, she decided to pause, and focus on what mattered most: her family, and the experiences they shared, and would share, together. So she decided to focus on the in-between, the little things, that often get overlooked by out fast paced culture.
She states that this is similar to maintaining a garden. There are many moving parts to a garden: the soil, the plants, the water and nutrients needed for growth, and pollinators like bees, butterflies and birds. Together, these things create and sustain life in a garden. But, plants are not grown overnight. It takes time and patience. And, it takes a great deal of faith. Casey states that each season her family plants their garden, they do what they need to do (i.e. move the soil, water, make sure their plants have enough sunlight), but they cannot actually MAKE their plants grow. All they can do is provide the best environment possible, and have faith. Faith that God will take over, providing what the plants need so that they can grow and be bountiful.
The same is true of our lives. We can do the things, know the people, work the job, etc. But our lives will not be bountiful, or produce fruit, if we don’t step out in faith and let go of the wheel. We have to know our limits, and our capabilities, and trust that God will provide where we cannot.
In times of struggle, or challenges, it can be hard to give up control, right? It can be hard to not try and fix everything on your own. Well friend, you weren’t made to do it all or fix it all, especially during times where you are not equipped to handle the situation staring you in the face. These moments, as difficult as they may be (the messy stuff Casey refers to) are some of the best places for growth and cultivating.
“Cultivating an intentional life has been a process for me, not an overnight occurrence. I have come to realize that I was created this way on purpose by a good and knowing God, who made me grow through imperfect progress.”
The hard stuff is where the best kind of growth happens. We are being changed, often times from the inside out, for something better that God has in store. It is in this messy stuff that we need to appreciate the happy, and grace filled moments we are given each day. If we can appreciate the challenging times, it will make the happy times all the more special and important to our lives and those around us. God has a purpose for each of us, and our purpose is as unique and as different as we are. He uses our challenges, and our story, to help us grow, and live with intention.
“Like rich compost, the best soil is filled with transformed remnants of the past. In the same way, your past challenges and mistakes can be transformed by God’s grace. ”
Stepping out in faith can be tricky- often times we are stepping into places, or into moments we cannot see. These moments can feel uncertain, uncomfortable- but who was every really transformed from their comfort zone? I for one am a creature of habit, and enjoy my comfort zone, so thinking about stepping out into the unknown can be very scary. But, I know that my faith is bigger than my worries, or doubts, or uncertainty. I know that God has a plan, and a purpose for my life, and I need to have faith that his ways are better than mine, and that He will help me to cultivate what matters.
Remember all of the moving parts to a garden? All of these moving parts can be found in your life as well:
the soil- your home, your foundation, where your roots are.
the plants- your talents and gifts, your time, and your attention.
the water and nutrients- the word of God, prayer and faith.
pollinators like bees, butterflies and birds- loved ones that support you, celebrate with you, and challenge you to focus on whats important
Being intentional with our lives takes time, and patience. As Casey states, it is not an overnight process. You have to have faith that everything will happen at the right time. And you have to acknowledge that you cannot cultivate an intentional life on your own. You take what you have, where you are, and make the best of it. Focus on the little things, and the big things will work themselves out. You simply have to have faith that God is working for you, and he will go before you to prepare your way.
One of my favorite paragraphs from this book is as follows:
“That’s the thing about a tending list- it allows you to see progress. It allows you to celebrate more often because you can see what God is doing in the little-by-little. And remember: growing an intentional life doesn’t happen by following a checklist or making perfect progress. It happens by His grace and power. Day by day, decision by decision, step into the dirt with Him, and He will do the rest.” (149)
Friend, you need this book. Whether you are in the middle of a good season or bad one, we could all use a little cultivating every once in a while. I promise you won’t regret it!
