What I Water Grows

Believe it or not, this song started while I was mindlessly death scrolling.

I landed on a gentleman talking about trees and this simple perspective that they are always growing in two directions. Their roots are growing down while everything above the ground is reaching toward the light.

Naturally, my mind couldn't leave it alone.

So I started researching it.

I learned about gravitropism, how roots actually sense gravity and orient themselves downward. Then phototropism, how the growth above ground responds to light and turns toward it. The deeper I got into the science of how a tree grows, the more beautiful the whole thing became to me.

A healthy tree is doing a tremendous amount of work where nobody can see it.

It is reaching down for water. Establishing itself. Growing roots strong enough to support what will eventually appear above the ground.

At the same time, it is reaching toward light.

And somewhere in studying all of that, I started looking at the scriptures and the words of the prophets.

That is when this became something much bigger for me.

The Lord has been teaching with this exact imagery for thousands of years.

Jeremiah talked about the man who trusts in the Lord being like a tree planted by water, spreading its roots by the river and continuing to bear fruit even when the heat comes.

Alma taught about planting the Word in our hearts, nourishing it until it takes root, and patiently waiting for the fruit.

Christ taught that a tree is known by its fruit.

Then Jacob 5 hit me in a completely different way. There is a point where the branches grow faster than the strength of the roots.

I couldn't get past that.

Because I think I do that.

I ask God to grow things in my life. Open doors. Bless my work. Help my family. Give me opportunities. Increase what I can carry.

But am I asking Him with the same intensity to grow the part underneath all of that?

The part nobody sees.

The world talks constantly about growth. Feed your mind. Manifest what you want. Protect your energy. Think positively. Become successful. Build the life you want.

We throw fertilizer bombs all over this idea.

Some of that advice may even produce growth.

The question I kept coming back to was where that growth is headed.

A tree can grow quickly and still grow badly.

I don't simply want more growth. I want to be rooted in the right place and reaching toward the right Light.

That changed the whole song for me.

“What I water grows” became much more personal.

Because I water things every day.

I water thoughts by returning to them.

I water fears by giving them another hour.

I water resentment every time I replay something.

And I water faith when I open the scriptures, pray, serve somebody, listen to the Spirit, or choose again to put my trust in Christ.

Whatever I keep feeding gets stronger.

Eventually, it produces something.

That is why the line in this song that probably means the most to me is:

Grow the hidden part

Nobody gets to see.

I want the man I am alone to match the man God calls me to be.

I want my roots to be able to carry whatever branches He allows to grow.

And when life gets hot, difficult, disappointing, or dry, I want to have already put roots down somewhere deeper than whatever circumstance I'm standing in.

Most of all, I want to keep reaching toward Christ.

Because fruit eventually tells the story of what a tree has been connected to.

So this song became a pretty simple prayer.

Lord, keep me close to You.

Put Your Word down deep where only You can see.

Keep working on me there.

And when the fruit eventually starts showing, let them see You in me.