When we treat our work week like we would tend a garden, we stay in the details, and eventually, we will enjoy the fruit of our labor. Gardeners realize there are different stages of growth, and care is required to ensure that fruits and vegetables reach their full potential. So many times, we plant something with excitement but then forget to weed or water it.
When setting weekly goals, gardeners often focus on quick-growing produce, such as strawberries. It’s important to be realistic about what you can achieve in a week. Instead of aiming to declutter your entire house, consider a specific task you could complete by the end of the week. For example, you might focus on decluttering the hall closet. Choose an area that is visible so you can easily see the results of your efforts. By Friday, you’ll be able to acknowledge what you have accomplished.
Cultivating our Week
Monday— Sow. Plan, Pray, and Start to work.
Tuesday: Get rid of weeds. Deal with what pops up to choke out your time and energy, which is needed to accomplish your goal.
Wednesday— Water what’s growing. Work diligently towards achieving your goal.
Thursday— Prune what has grown wild by clipping it and removing the unnecessary.
Friday— Pick fruit. Celebrate and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Sow
Pick a weekly goal, write it down, pray about it, and begin working on it.
Step 1: Plan and write your weekly goal. Ask yourself, “What do I want to grow this week and accomplish by Friday?” It could be something on your to-do list that keeps getting put off. Write it down in your weekly planner, calendar, or a sticky note, and place it where you start your day.
Step 2: Pray about your goal. Many of our plans get lost or neglected because we lack prayer.
- Pray for wisdom. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. James 1:5
- Pray for faithfulness. Being faithful means being loyal, reliable, and true to one’s word, promises, and commitments. It’s a fruit of the Spirit.
- Pray for Clarity. Clarity refers to understanding something distinctly.
- Pray for Resources. Resources can refer to anything necessary for completing a task. They may be tangible items that can be purchased or borrowed, or they may be emotional qualities like perseverance, energy, or joy.
Step 3: Begin working on your goals and work until you have an easy start tomorrow. This may mean gathering what is necessary, getting what you need, then organizing so you are set for tomorrow.
Weeds
At the beginning of the week, one often feels excited to begin a project. The first day of planning and starting the work is enjoyable. However, challenges can arise alongside new growth by the second day, much like weeds. Weeds must be removed from our garden to protect our planted crops. They compete with our plants for water, nutrients, sunlight, and space. Remove any distractions that keep you from your goal.
Water
Wednesday, water what is growing and allow that to be your focus. Be sure to put your time and energy into what you want to see fruitful on Friday. By Wednesday, all the regular tasks and activities will have crowded your days, and it can be hard to get back to this short-term goal. So list your why. In what way does this short-term goal nourish your family? For example, if you are decluttering your hall closet, your family can store the things they are currently using in that closet.
Prune
Prune activities or places that have grown wildly. When a tree is pruned, regular branches are cut off, too, not just the ones growing in the wrong place. We may think that five years ago, these things or activities fit perfectly in our lives; they even bore fruit. But now it seems misplaced; Maybe it’s time to take those shears and clip them off. Realize it will hurt when it is cut off. When a branch is pruned, it is sore and empty in that area and takes time to scab over. But once it’s done, the tree grows better.
Our neighbor has the most beautiful tree because he hires an arborist to trim his tree. An arborist understands what each cut will look like in the long term, how it will affect the surrounding branches, and which cuts will make the tree look like a masterpiece months later. Similarly, we were created to be God’s masterpiece. God knows which “cuts” we need now to make room for our growth in the right areas. When He created us, He had a good plan for us to fulfill.
Fruit
Day 5 is your finishing day. I like to call it “Fruit by Friday” because it’s a satisfying way to end the week. You’ve completed your task! If your goal was to declutter the hall closet, take a moment to appreciate your hard work.
Now, you can enjoy your weekend; when Monday arrives, you can choose a new goal to tackle.