Water Your Grass

If you have read any of my previous blog posts, then you know I lived in Milwaukee for a year. You also know I didn’t love everything about that year either. I remember counting down the days until I could move back home. Which was crazy because it wasn’t that long ago that I had been counting down the days until I could move away from home. 

I was convinced that the grass would be greener in Milwaukee, but when I got there it wasn’t. When I got there, I wanted the grass that was back home instead.

Until I got back home, and the grass wasn’t as green as I remembered. 

I remember telling my mom, “How many times am I going to say, ‘next year'”? 

Next year I’ll be happy when I live here. Next year I’ll be happy when I have this job. 

For three years in a row I said, “Next year when I…”

For three years in a row, I convinced myself that the grass could never be green where I was. That it was always going to be greener somewhere else.

Until I realized that the only common denominator of each of those years was me. I lived in different cities, went to different schools, had different jobs, and was friends with different people.

The problem wasn’t the grass. The problem was me. I wasn’t watering it. 

I know you have heard it before, but the grass really is greener where you water it. 

Have you ever read The Great Gatsby? Or watched the movie? (If you haven’t then you must live under a rock but stick with me!) If you have, then you know that the main character Gatsby is fascinated with a green light across the water on the edge of Daisy’s dock. Day in and day out Gatsby fixates on this green light. It becomes a symbol for everything he thinks will make him happy. (Key word being thinks.) Gatsby thinks that Daisy is the answer to everything in his life and having her is what will finally make him happy.

I think most of us are all a little like Gatsby. I know I was at one point. We all think a green light in the distance is what is finally going to fulfill us. We look at the picture-perfect lives of the people we follow on social media and think we won’t be happy until we have what they have. We are constantly in a state of thinking that if we just had that one award, that one pair of shoes, or that one house then we would be happy. We think that the next season of life will always be the answer to our happiness. If we are in high school, we think that going to college is where we are finally going to be happy. If we are single, we think that finding a boyfriend is finally when we will be happy.

Gatsby lived in a big house, threw lavish parties, and had all the money in the world and yet he still wasn’t happy. Like Gatsby, there is always that one thing that's keeping us from being happy. Sorry to spoil the book for you (it was written in 1925 so I really don’t feel that bad), but eventually Gatsby gets the green light. Daisy comes back into Gatsby’s life, but the thing that he thought was going to make him happy and fulfilled doesn’t.

So, what’s your green light in the distance?

Is it that graduation date? A ring? A different job?

Do yourself a favor and stop staring at your green light. Stop thinking that the bright shiny thing in the distance that is just out of your grasp is going to make you happy. Instead, turn to Jesus. Unlike the false truth of that green light, He is for real. He is the light in the darkness that can light up your whole life. 

In John 8, Jesus says something that completely changed the way I thought. He says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

On one hand, Jesus is talking about eternal light. He is saying that whoever follows Him will have the opportunity to live an everlasting life in heaven. That’s the Gospel. If you believe in Jesus and believe that He died for you and your sins, then He offers that light to you. That’s super important, but He’s not saying you have to wait until the next life to find that light. He also says that He’s the light of this world too. If you follow Him now, then you don’t have to walk in darkness anymore.

When I realized that Jesus was my light, I could finally stop staring ahead and searching longingly for a green light that was never really going to make me happy.

The enemy wants us all to be like Gatsby. He wants to use a shiny green light to distract us and make us unhappy. Eventually you might get the green light, but the enemy is tricky. He’s going to keep finding new lights for you to stare at. Maybe the next one is blue, pink, or purple but I can promise you that there is always going to be another thing, another light that you think is finally going to be the answer you have been searching for. 

This is exactly what happened to me. And sometimes I still catch myself staring longingly across the water. It’s awesome to be excited about the future, but you can’t be so excited that you forget to water the grass you are standing on. 

You might be counting down the days until graduation, but God still has you on that campus for a reason. You might be counting down the days until you find a significant other, but God still has you single for a reason. You might be counting down the days until that promotion or new job, but God still has you in that position for a reason. 

So be all in exactly where you are at.

When I started watering the grass beneath my feet, I realized how green it could be. I realized how much joy there was to be found in this season, in this town, and in this year. 

So, are you watering the grass you're standing on?

Are you staring longingly at a green light in the distance?

Or are you following the only true light in this world - Jesus?