Day 112 - Sowing Seeds in Good Soil
Being in KTC sometimes reminds me about The Parable of the Sower. Jesus was speaking to a crowd by a lake. He told them the following story found in Mark 4:3-8:
3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
We have the opportunity to sow seeds onto various surfaces here in KTC. My primary objective is to serve a purpose of continuing my own successful quit and to play a role in nurturing a community that pulls people out of a life of slavery to nicotine. In doing this, we can have various methods for doing this. Some methods resonate more with some than others. Here are a few ways you can help sow seeds in good soil:
1) Post roll EDD and do it early. Posting roll is not a check-in. Posting roll is not a status update. Posting roll is a promise to you, your quit group, and the KTC community. Setting this example is leading the way by showing people how it is done. If we post for the purpose of making a 24-hour promise, we are planting our seeds in good soil. That post can grow into something strong (ie. Your word is kept and that shows integrity.) However, if you post roll as a status update or just to check in and be seen, that seed is not sown in good soil. ItÂ’s not a solid foundation to your day. Why? ItÂ’s based in just making appearances.
2) Share your experience. You never know who is out there struggling with this addiction. It takes courage to share the vulnerabilities that we have within us. For me, God knows who I am and He gives me courage and knows my intentions for sharing. For you, it might be the same or something else. At times, people can misinterpret your willingness to share as being someone who is seeking attention. However, I remember people sharing their struggles at numerous points in my life and when I heard it, I thought, “Hmm… I’m not alone.” It is for this reason, I share the intimate details of my journey with dip and how it is interconnected to other things. That is THE reason I do it. If you share your experience simply to get attention, that is sowing a seed in bad soil. It will not last. It will not grow. Sow the seed in good soil. The good soil is for someone else to see and learn. You sharing your story might encourage someone to quit or continue quitting.
3) Connect with people in your quit group (and in others new and old) and be very intentional in what your connection is about. It is about quitting this addiction. How many times have we all tried to do it on our own? We canÂ’t do it by ourselves. Very few are successful at doing it this way. However, remember that the connections you make are just as much about supporting the needs of the person you are connecting to as it is about your own desires and needs. You can plant seeds of in good soil just by letting them know you are there to lean on. Your foundation being in a bond of quit holds you together in good soil. However, if our connections in this community are made, maintained, or broken for reasons outside of this (quitting Nic) than, we may have planted them seeds in bad soil. Maybe we were just trying to make friends more than building accountability. Good (as it relates to quit) are probably less likely to grow in this soil. Therefore, at times, you might have to change the soil you are planting your seeds into. This may mean that you refocus your efforts. If you sow your seed in bad soil (build relations primarily on something other than quit) then your connection to this community may have a rocky foundation. Whatever that connection is based on can take you and those new found friends right out of here.
4) Stand strong and stand convicted in your beliefs and values here. Many of us started dipping because he saw someone else doing it and wanted to be like that. Maybe we were navigating our peer groups and our friends dipped and we did it to fit in with that group. Maybe a parent or family member did it and we wanted to be like them. Maybe the TV showed us that dipping was “manly” and we wanted to be like John Wayne or whoever. Whatever the reason, we were not born dipping and often choose to do it because we were trying to be something we are not. Don’t be a follower, be leader and start quitting and stay quit. To that same extent, extend that sternness to other areas of your life too. If there is something you disagree with in here, express it. Don’t just go with the crowd. New ideas and new communities go through birthing pains necessarily. KTC is an ever-changing community because new quitters are coming in each month. There are core tenants that we might be bonded in, but much of the culture is dictated by those within it. Sow the seeds of your values in good soil. It’s not just about standing strong in your quit, it’s about standing strong altogether. Infuse the quit throughout your life.
At the end of the day, revising an old Greek proverb, I would say that “KTC grows great when wise quitters plant seeds to trees whose shade they shall never sit.” Sow seeds in good soil so your work will have a lasting effect and quitters to come will benefit...
