Dirt

the REST of the week #150

It’s the rest of the week and if things are feeling messy, here’s an invitation to rest right where you are, because good things grow in dirt.

Wrapping up our time in Ecuador, Ricardo and I do a quick grocery run which involves walking several blocks to MegaMaxi—because that’s probably the only place we will find raw cashews.

Extended family will be coming to eat after church and it’s always fun to serve them up a sweet treat that they simply cannot believe is actually healthy.

This is a bit of a tradition for me and I want those cashews.

Mission accomplished.

Now for some potatoes— I have not yet had my fill of papa chola (the most common of Ecuador’s over 4000 varieties of native potatoes).

It doesn’t get any fresher than Jorgito’s—the hole in the wall grocery store at the corner where Ricardo’s mom buys her fruit.

We gather potatoes and I am initially delighted that they are still covered with dirt—they are that fresh.

Once home, however, I start washing them and quickly realize why Ricardo’s mom buys her potatoes at Tutti’s across the street—there is something to be said for the convenience of certain produce that is washed, packaged, and ready to go.

I soak them, scrub them, and scrub them sone more.

It doesn’t occur to me to take a picture until they’re almost clean – at the same time that I remember Edmond Sprunger’s comments on dirt and decide on this week’s invitation to rest.

I’ve quoted Sprunger here before – sharing his brilliant advice, written in the context of helping parents practice the violin more easily with their children.

In the words of Brecklyn, writing for PluckyViolinTeacher.com:

“Practicing happens in a very close–often intense–relationship. When the emotional environment of this relationship gets either too hot or too cold, practicing gets more difficult, just as it would if the physical environment went to one extreme or the other. One way this upbeat book is here to help you is by acknowledging the darker, coarser side of the practicing relationship. This book understands that even though few things are more annoying than biting into a piece of dirty lettuce, lettuce actually grows in dirt. The dirt doesn’t make lettuce bad. Similarly, relationships often grow in conflict. The presence of conflict doesn’t necessarily indicate that the relationship is bad.”

Whatever messy thing you’re dealing with right now, may you find some rest knowing that good things grow in dirt—and may your rest be sweet.

Alicia

I am doing this on my phone and can’t seem to do click-on-me links – if you’re interested in the previous post quoting Sprunger, here it is: