Wasted?

My husband recently completed an experiment. He stuck a discarded carrot top in a pot of soil and watered it to see if it would grow. Lo and behold, it sprouted! After awhile, the sprouts died off. Whether that was due to poor growing conditions, lack of viability, inattention, or what, I don't know. That's besides the point. The point is that something grew.

I've been thinking about that carrot in terms of life. How often do the periods of our life that feel "wasted" actually produce growth? On the other hand, how often do we waste what seems meaningless or of no value? Take, for example, the time of being at home due to COVID-19 restrictions. Was it wasted?  It could be. Many of us, including me, spent too much time scrolling social media, laying around, being afraid, etc. in the early days. But then we had a choice: do something productive, or sit and stew. Some people were really productive, think small-business starting, home-organizing, amazing mom mavericks. I wasn't. In the space COVID-19 created, I did have some new realizations, however.

I realized the need I had for grace.  I realized how many little things I took for granted. I realized the privileges of using technology to communicate. I realized how my much my communication strategies still need work. I realized more how stress affects me and what I need to do up my self-care game. I realized that I was more tired and burned out than I thought. I realized that I need to ask for help just like the next person.

Was this "quarantine" season wasted? In some ways, it felt like it. I didn't get to do things I'd planned on doing for a long time. I was disappointed. I felt and still feel grief. But this was also a period of growth; a period of realizing what's essential, and what's not; a period of realizing I can make do with less than I think; a period of growth.

Is there waste in life? Certainly. But maybe there is less than we think. Maybe there are actually more opportunities for growth than we realize. Maybe we just need eyes to see them.