When Will My Plant Grow? a short story by Emma Mitchell

"When will my plant grow? I remember I planted it about three weeks ago, so it should be growing by now," I told my mom. "Honey, you have to wait, because plants don't always grow fast." "I don't want to wait," I shouted.

I went to my dad. "My plant isn't growing," I said. "You have to wait, because you don't have to just worry about the plant; don't waste your time, because you can play with your sister, brother, baby sister, or baby brother. "No," I answered.

I went to my sister. "When will my plant grow?" I asked. She replied, "I know that not all plants grow fast. Just take your time to play with us, not worrying about the plant." I was mad.

I went to my brother. "My plant won't grow," I said. "Well did you put a seed in it?" he asked. "Yes," I said. "Well, did you give it water and put it in a sunny spot?" he asked me. "Um, well, no," I answered. "Then do it!" I didn't do it.

I went to my baby sister. "Ooh," said my baby sister.

I went to my baby brother. "Gug," he said. "I guess you don't know."

I went outside. I sat. Then I stood up. I went to the kitchen. I got a cup and poured water in it. I went outside and poured the water on the plant, then I moved it in a sunny spot. "Time for supper," Mom said. I washed my hands, then ate supper. I went to bed.

In the morning, I got dressed, ate breakfast, brushed my teeth, then went outside and looked at my plant. "Yay!" I shouted as a I jumped up and down. "My plant grew!" I went inside, told my Mom, Dad, sister and baby sister, brother and baby brother that my plant grew. "It did?" they all asked. "Yes! Come look!" They went and saw it. "Wow!" they said. "I watered it and moved it in a sunny spot and it grew!"

The Countdown...

I figured an update would be appropriate at this point, especially considering I'm in danger of doing what I always do with blogs, which consists mainly of good intentions and bad follow-through.

As of today, we have 14 days left in Fort Worth before we relocate to Alabama for 3 weeks before we relocate to Richmond, VA for 8 weeks before we relocate to Antsirabe, Madagascar for approximately 4 months of language school before we relocate to Diego Suarez, Madagascar to do the work we've been called to do. (Also, sometime in our first year in Madagascar we will spend 30 days living in the "bush" in Zambia, or somewhere like that). To look at this way is a bit overwhelming, and it probably looks a bit crazy, but I have no doubt that this is what the Lord has set before us.

The next two weeks will be pressure-packed as we finish our time in Fort Worth. We are doing our best to spend as much time as possible with friends, and this is certainly a blessing. Over the past three years, we have developed some great relationships, which will make leaving that much more difficult. I am realizing that obedience to God does not eliminate sadness, and I'm reminded of the numerous times in the book of Acts that Paul finishes his work in one place and moves on to the next. Acts 20:37 says that after speaking and praying with the Ephesian elders, "there was much weeping on the part of all." I'm not saying I want our close friends to weep over our departure (just a few tears will suffice :)), but personally I am feeling a real sense of sadness about saying goodbye to those with whom we have shared in the Gospel. (The strange thing is we will do this twice, once in Texas and again in Alabama). Honestly, I'm not looking forward to this part of the process, though I see God's goodness even in goodbyes.

Aside from that, we have a busy couple of weeks that includes packing, giving away some stuff, and selling other stuff.

-April has two nights of work left at the hospital (praise the Lord, she will be done forever with night shift). She has really been strong through all this, but also feels the pressure of our tight schedule.

-Emma has one more day in the first grade, then a week of art camp (right up her alley), then a week of ballet camp. She also just lost her first tooth, but don't mention it to her; she's a perfectionist and doesn't like the fact that her grill is asymmetrical now. She will begin attending Homesville Elementary School in the fall.

-Corinne (Ms. Happy-Go-Lucky) is busy singing her way through this time of transition. She will finish school next week, and then will happily join Emma at ballet camp the week after next.

-I will finish up at my job on the 30th. I am also working on a writing project for the great Jeremy Maxfield that will be completed on the 27th (this has been fun, both to work with Jeremy again and to write something that will see the light of day, as opposed to the hundreds of pages of seminary papers that are now locked in a vault).

I had the opportunity to preach at our home church, The Rooted Church, on June 5 (listen here if you want: Romans 5:1-11; thanks to Nick, Chris, and David for that opportunity). I've also been volunteering at the Forth Worth Pregnancy Center on Mondays and Wednesdays, which has provided a great opportunity to talk with young guys about life, manhood, fatherhood, and the Gospel (what a blessing this has been).

So I guess that's it for now. Please pray that we would make God look great to this world even in the midst of great stress and a busy schedule.

--Adam