If you let any garden grow untended, it’s going to get messy. Maybe you were excited about it at the start… You knew where every row was, every seed planted, which cycles of water and light and how to fertilize “just right.” You knew what to expect, you knew about the potential bugs and diseases these little plants are susceptible to… And then… Over time, it got fuzzy.    The rain washed away the little row markers telling you which row were cucumbers, which were carrots, which type of tomato to expect… And things got messy. Maybe you overwatered these, and under-fertilized there, but... at least you have a garden! You’re doing it. Not everyone has a garden, but you do, and you’re doing a pretty good job.    More time passes, and you realize that you’re a little over your head… Some things start growing, others haven’t even broken ground. Your garden looks more like a compost bin than a garden. Doubt begins to creep in and you feel silly for even wanting to start a garden in the first place. Who are you to start a garden? You think just watching a few YouTube videos and buying all the stuff was enough?    And before you know it… The garden goes unattended. First for a few days, you peek out the window and see that things are still green… it’s been raining regularly. Things will just take their natural course. You secretly resolve to just let the garden be whatever it wants to be. A hands-off gardener. If bugs want to come along, fine. If weeds grow, whatever. You’re sure something good will come of it… but you just really don’t care anymore. You can hear voices from some past-life of your parents telling you you don’t have a green thumb… Or that you’re not careful enough to take care of plants… And you quietly agree with them.   It was a nice idea at first, but you’re not a gardener… Silly imagination. Waste of money. A good idea not followed-through, and more shame to add to the pile.   I want to talk a little bit about paying attention and perseverance. Two things that are wildly difficult; inconvenient, uncomfortable, no “instant gratification,” no real “user’s manuals” to go by… Just diligence, gathering information, and keeping enough oil in the lamp to keep the flame burning.    I don’t know about you, but if I look in my rearview mirror, I’ve got dozens of unfinished ideas… Business ideas, dreams for the church, relationships I had hoped to fix but never could, vain attempts to get rich quick, or to try to be something I’m not… Almost all of these things I’m glad I didn’t pursue… There’s wisdom in letting ideas come and go—I do it all the time—but this isn’t about that.    This is about the thing that you know you need to do. The thing you started because knew it was the right thing to do. The business you’ve been working at and fighting over for the last 10 years… The family you’ve started with someone you love, but you’re starting to see your control slip away. The relationship that you used to care deeply about and now you’re resolved to just let it be whatever it wants to be. It’s too much work. Too frustrating. Too heartbreaking. Too discouraging.    This is about us being dealt little blows, one after another after another… And slowly loosening our grip on our intentions. Slowly letting our standards slip. Slowly forgetting our expectations and settling for less… and in some cases, much less than we had originally intended to.    What is it about the human psyche that retreats after getting beat up a little bit? It makes sense, of course… But it doesn’t really jive with Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” nor does it align with a biblical perspective of life and faith and having God working all things together for our good.    When we begin to “give up”… it feels normal, but it shouldn’t. I guess what I’m trying to say is that it feels common to the human experience { You try something hard for a short time, or sometimes a long time, and then eventually you lose energy, gusto, focus, passion, and you begin to let it slip in quality, in excellence, etc. }    As I referenced earlier, sometimes IT IS TIME to let something go. No question. Sometimes every sign on the dashboard is blinking and it’s clear that whatever your original dream was isn’t going to pan out the way you had hoped… We need to pay attention and sometimes go back to the drawing board. Cut our losses and start again. Sometimes there are things completely outside of our control and we need to take a hint from the universe to try something else.    The multi-tier marketing scheme isn’t panning out. Our commission-based job isn’t paying the bills. That relationship has turned sour and there’s genuinely no hope for it to become healthy again. Sometimes it’s time to stop a thing. Crunch the numbers. Do some soul searching. Make the hard decision.    But sometimes it’s not the universe lining up to tell us something, and sometimes it’s actually US that’s doing the waffling… Everything is there for the taking, but we’re the ones feeling our passion fade, our belief that things can get better, our dreams starting to compromise… Settling… Letting our minds wander to something easier, requiring less sweat, taking less of a toll on us.    I wonder how many dreams go unrealized, not because of God closing doors, but because of us growing wearing from knocking. How many dreams go unfulfilled simply because we give up when things get hard?    First and foremost… Nothing is wasted. And I really believe that. If you spend 10 years in a broken marriage, only to end in divorce and starting over again… There’s a deep pain there, but none of that is wasted. All of that experience shapes your next 10 years; your next relationship; the freedom you feel; the joy of starting afresh; of being true to yourself; out from under the thumb of an abusive husband.    I’ve had to learn lessons the hard way sometimes… At first, early in business, it was a $500 lesson… I was overeager, thought it was a good idea, and wasted $500. I hated that. I felt dumb. But I learned. I learned to ask questions. I learned to investigate. And I became a better leader because of it.   More recently, it was a $67,000 lesson. Earlier this year. Building a business, choosing a model that I thought was wise… And $67,000 in, realizing I needed to change course. It wasn’t sustainable. I learned. I learned that business ideas need to make sense in a spreadsheet long before you’re trying to work it out. I learned to protect profit margins. I learned that a thing doesn’t have to be big and bulky with lots of overhead to be successful.    Nothing is wasted.    If I were to ask you: “What’s a season or relationship or decision you’ve made that you regret?” I’m sure something would come to mind… There’s some thing that didn’t pan out and you wish had never happened. Ok… Now, assuming we can’t rewrite history… What did you learn from it?    Maybe it’s the most embarrassingly simple lesson. Maybe it’s complex and nuanced. But you learned. You reflect, you dissect, you learn, and you bring that with you.    First of all, nothing is wasted. The last thing your soul needs is more shame heaped on it… Be kind to yourself. It’s your first “go” at this life thing. Nothing is wasted.   Second… If your garden is overgrown and you’re ready to give up, bring fresh eyes into the picture. Ask a friend to walk through the garden with you. Ideally someone that knows a bit about gardening, but even that’s not necessary. Just fresh eyes. Someone that hasn’t been beaten up by the thing. Someone that isn’t jaded or discouraged or ready to throw in the towel.    You’ll find that the questions they ask, the spirit they bring with them, the heart they have for you and for your success… That might be all you need. Someone in the trenches with you for a minute. Someone to help pull the weeds, relabel the rows and set up a schedule with you.    Sometimes simply having a different perspective can make all the difference. If you’re having a hard time with your finances, share your finances with a trusted friend. If you’re having a hard time with being in shape, start meeting a friend at the gym for accountability.    No one said you have to grow your garden alone. Call a neighbor over. Humble yourself. Ask for help. No one knows everything. If it’s been a while since your last humiliation (or humbling of yourself)… You’ll find that your soul actually welcomes it. It’s a heavy burden to be right all the time; to always have everything figured out… Drop the facade. Ask for help. Take a breath. You’ll be amazed at how many people are willing to help.    The last point I want to make is very simply: Anything worth doing is worth doing well. If you’re going to half-ass it, it’s not worth it. And if you’re going to do it well, it’s going to take time.    Do fewer things with greater attention to detail. Don’t be a factory of half-assed stuff. Be a craftsman of the few, excellent things you’ve decided to do. No one wants to be a mile wide and an inch deep. A jack of all trades; master of none.    If you want to grow a garden, that’s a noble thing. Do that thing well. And don’t beat yourself when your first garden sucks. It’s your first garden. Maybe next season you’ll set it up differently. You’ll choose different crops. You’ll start earlier. You’ll spend money on the good fertilizer. You’ll quit that other thing that sucked up your free-time so you have more time for this thing.    Maybe it’s time to quit and never do this thing again… Or maybe it’s time to recognize what you’re learning, to invite others around you on your journey, and to recommit to doing this thing well.    I know I plan on it.    I love you guys, make it a good day.