Room to Grow

     Once while I was out in the yard doing some clean up and landscape work I ran into an old, dead shrub that I had been meaning to remove and replace for some time. As I began the work of digging up the root ball, my shovel hit something solid which brought my digging to an abrupt halt. Upon inspection, I found a black plastic container that the plant had originally been purchased in which the person who planted the shrub years earlier failed to remove during planting. Almost certainly, the shrub had died due to the fact that the roots could not continue to grow, entrapped inside the walls of the plastic container. It was impossible for the root system to expand and venture out to locate nourishment, and without a more entrenched root system the plant eventually dried up and withered away. If we aren't careful we can limit ourselves to the point that we dry up with no chance to grow and develop our potential in life.
      When the plant was first purchased at the nursery the plastic container served a valuable purpose. Without the plastic home water would just run off the plant and the roots would not receive the proper nutrients necessary for growth. But once the plant was purchased and a proper hole was dug to create a new home for the plant the smart thing to do would be to dispose of the container when the plant is placed in the ground. There the plant's root system could flourish and expand allowing the plant to gain strength and grow into an adult plant producing food, shade, and beauty for the eye to behold. It doesn't make sense to leave the plant in the plastic container which inhibited growth, who would intentionally put a barrier into place that would eventually eliminate any chance of survival for the plant when it's roots couldn't expand any further?
      Well, that is exactly what many of us do to ourselves in life. We put limits on our potential to grow, learn, and expand our scope of influence. Our self-imposed plastic containers come in many forms and varieties, things like doubt, fear of failure, insecurity with new experiences, memories of past experiences, and even a lack of trust all qualify as inhibitors to growth. Unlike the plastic container and shrub example the containers that limit our growth were never intended to help us in the beginning. Fear, plain and simple was created to limit us from taking chances and inhibits us from going out on the limb when we need to make the right choice. Just like a plant's root structure needs to spread wide to allow the proper amount of growth to occur, we too need that same room to grow and mature.
     Don't place limits on your potential. Don't allow fear or negative, past experiences delegate your potential for growth. What we see as barriers, God uses as stepping stones to where He wants us to grow if only we discard the plastic containers in our lives. Keep in mind what Jesus said in Luke 18:27 "What is impossible with man, is possible with God". Trust that God has a plan, His plan is bigger than anything we can fathom, and His plan will impact those it is intended to impact if we will only be obedient and move forward with full confidence! Allow yourself to grow!
Coach Carter