Season 4 EP. 103 Not Every Seed Is the Problem (C2TC8 H.E.R. Circle)

Season 4 EP. 103 Not Every Seed Is the Problem (C2TC8 H.E.R. Circle)

What if the conclusion you’ve reached isn’t the only explanation?

As we continue Season 4: Walking the Garden, Madison Samone Chase invites listeners into a conversation about perspective, assumptions, resilience, and the importance of looking beyond first impressions.

In a culture that often rewards quick judgments, immediate results, and visible outcomes, this episode challenges us to consider whether some of life’s most meaningful breakthroughs require a deeper level of observation, patience, and understanding.

Through the lens of faith, personal growth, wellness, and intentional living, Madison explores why what we initially perceive isn’t always the full story.

This episode is for high-performing women, mothers, aunties, godmothers, single moms, dog moms, entrepreneurs, caregivers, and anyone navigating a season of growth, transition, healing, stewardship, and becoming.

As always, C2TC8 offers a PPT Audit, a SAC Challenge (Spontaneous Authentically Assertive Communication), 3 Keys 🔑, and 1 Reflection Question ❓ to help you pause for a cause, reflect, and carry the lesson with you long after listening.

30 New Episodes launch the 15th of every month for 15 days, with 2 episodes daily at 8AM and 8PM CST.

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If this episode pricked your heart or lit a spark, please follow, share it with someone you care about, leave a comment so this becomes a dialogue and not a monologue, and leave a five-star review.

And remember, there’s always grace in this space.

Blessings to You & Yours! Until tomorrow.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Season four. Not every seed is the problem. Have you ever been tempted to give up on something because you couldn't see evidence that it was actually working? Like there was no visible progress, no visible growth, and no visible results. Nothing that suggested your efforts were actually making a difference. Most of us have been here, right? And then what happens? It's easy to assume the problem is the seed. The dream, the opportunity, the relationship, the friendship, the romantic relationship, the career relationship, the goal, even ourselves. But gardeners understand something important. Sometimes the seed isn't the problem. Sometimes the conditions need attention. Sometimes the environment needs support. Sometimes growth is happening beneath the surface long before it appears above surface. Which made me wonder how many things have we abandoned simply because we couldn't yet see what was becoming and what is becoming. As we continue walking through the garden today, we're exploring a powerful lesson that I learned, and my mom hopefully learned as well. Not every seed is the problem. Hey y'all, I'm Madison Samo Chase, also known as Miss Chase. I was raised in church. My great-grandmother played the piano, and I used to sing in the choir. And my faith journey has always been at the center of who I am. And I'm incredibly thankful to have been raised by a hardworking, sacrificial, high-performing single mother who remains my bestie, my biggest fan, my BFF for real. Honoring God through service and making my mama proud and using the gifts he gave me has always been deeply important to me. Over the past several seasons of Cut to the Taste Today, we've talked about awareness, detox, discernment, no more nice boundaries, and rebuilding and becoming. But as I entered this next season, I found myself thinking less about what needed to be removed and more about what needed to be cultivated. Because before a gardener plants for the next season, the gardener walks the garden. The gardener takes inventory. The gardener notices what's flourishing. The gardener notices what's struggling. And the gardener notices what produced fruit. The gardener notices what never took root and what needs pruning. And the gardener notices what has completed its purpose. So that's what season four is all about for me: walking the garden and taking an honest look at the people, the places, and things in our lives, the PPT, not with judgment and not with shame, but with wisdom, because every person, every place, and everything produces fruit. And before we can ask for a bigger harvest, sometimes we may need to take a closer look at the roots. So whether you're a high-performing mother, a high-performing single mother, father, single father, caretaker, entrepreneur, aspiring entrepreneur, or working a nine-to-five, juggling two or three jobs, quietly rebuilding or simply trying to grow through life one season at a time with this space and this circle, it's for us and it's for you. So if you're listening andor watching, I want you to pull up a real chair or a digital chair and grab yourself a cup of hot or cold herbal tea. And welcome to my cozy home of Cut to the Chase at 8. C2TC8 now. Her circle, which stands for high performing, empowered women, and some men who are ready to thrive. A 15-minute micro learning moment for macro living transformations. And I am truly overjoyed that you are here. Let's take one breath together. We're gonna inhale for three, two, one, exhale for five, four, three, two, one. One of the easiest assumptions to make in life is that if something isn't producing visible results, it must not be working. How could it possibly be working? We live in a world that celebrates visible outcomes. We see it on social media, we see all of the highs, but rarely do we see the process. We see visible success, we see visible progress, visible growth, but nature teaches us a different lesson if we're willing to watch and listen and learn. Some of the most important work happens beneath the surface. Roots form before fruit appears. Seeds develop before sprouts emerge. Growth often begins long before it becomes visible. Yet so many of us become discouraged because we're measuring only what we can see. And that's where today's lesson began for me. I had a lemon tree. I was determined to start my garden with a lemon tree. And the lemon tree really kind of fell by the wayside. We kind of ignored it. It was super hot outside. And by the time I looked up, the tree had turned brown. Like it looked like it was decomposing and that there was no life beneath the surface. And my mom, who generally likes to throw things out because she likes new things, she was like, just throw it in the trash. I was like, absolutely not. We're not throwing it in the trash. So I kept watering this old tree that looked like it had no leaves. It was mostly brown. I still kept the soil. And what was once brown, the old lemon tree, uh, it started to turn green. But before that time, before it started to turn green, we actually bought a new lemon tree as well. But all the while, the new lemon tree, it starts off green and it looks great. The new tree is, you know, it it shows visible, visible results, right? But the old tree, I'm still watering it and I'm treating it just like I'm treating the new tree. I'm putting it in the proper sunlight. I am talking to the lemon tree. I am doing all kinds of things that I'm doing to the actual new tree. But the old lemon tree, it had no leaves, it looked barren, and my mom started to encourage me to just throw it away. And she wanted to purchase a new lemon tree, so we did. And I continued to water and care for the old tree the same way I cared for the new tree. And I just refused to assume that it was dead simply because it looked like it didn't have any life. And when both trees, when the brown tree started to turn green and it started to sprout leaves and it started to sprout um just flowers, there was a surprise harvest. The old lemon tree had five lemons on the old tree, and then the new lemon tree had three lemons. And so my lesson that I learned, and I hope you know it shared some insight for my mom was that sometimes the things that we think are actually no longer producing fruit are the very things that we need to nurture. And so that experience really reminded me of something important. Sometimes what appears lifeless is still alive, and sometimes what appears unproductive is still developing. And sometimes what appears barren is still becoming. Places. What environment supports your growth? What environment makes growth more difficult? And where do I consistently experience encouragement, faith, and possibility? Things. What goals, dreams, habits, and relationships or opportunities have I been tempted to abandon? And what may deserve a little more patience? And what may deserve continued stewardship? Our sack challenge for the day? This week's SAC challenge is simple. Practice one act of spontaneous, authentically assertive communication. Maybe it sounds like I'm not ready to give up yet. I think I may need more patience with this process. I am still growing, I am still learning, and I am going to keep showing up for myself. And I have another personal story. When I first started this podcast, um, there were so many people that were interviewing people, and people still do. And I said to myself, I could show up for myself. If no one else shows up for me, if only one person listens to this podcast, I could show up for myself. Or perhaps it may sound like I've been too hard on myself because sometimes growth needs encouragement more than criticism. And criticism, especially when you're working hard, you criticizing yourself won't serve anyone. Now, reflection and actually assessing and creating a pros and cons list of what's working and what may not be working or what can be improved upon, then that's a different story. So the question is on our PPT audit and our SAC challenge, where are you in terms of being honest and communicating what you actually feel in the moment? And of course, that could be a little clunky when you first start. Because sometimes our growth needs encouragement, way more than it needs criticism. Which brings me to the three keys. Key number one visible results are not the only evidence of growth. Some of the most important development happens beneath the surface. Key number two. Key number three, patience is often a form of stewardship, and what appears barren today may still produce fruit tomorrow. Our one reflection question: What have I been tempted to give up on simply because I don't see visible results? Today we explored a lesson and a lived experience from my personal uh attempt at becoming a gardener and what I eventually learned. And not every seed is the problem. Not every delay means failure. Not every season without visible fruit means nothing is happening. Sometimes growth requires our patience. Sometimes growth requires continued care. And sometimes our growth requires faith and action and putting feet to our faith. And sometimes the breakthrough arrives after everyone else has stopped expecting it. So this week, before you give up on something meaningful, ask yourself: am I looking at the whole story? Am I looking at the forest or am I focused on the trees or only what I currently see? So growth often looks like nothing before it looks like something. And that's where many of us can become discouraged. Not because the seed isn't growing and not because the process isn't working, but because we expected proof before the process had time to produce it. A gardener doesn't plant a seed and then spend every day digging it up and wanting to see if it's sprouting or if it's working. The gardener plants, the gardener waters, the gardener tends, and the gardener trust. So as we move through this week, consider the areas of your life where we've been demanding immediate evidence. The goal, the business, the healing, the relationship, the opportunity, the habit we've been trying to build. And then ask ourselves: am I nurturing the seed or am I disrupting the process? And remember, some of the most important growth happens underground. So continue to give yourself grace in this space, in this season, and this time. Let's take a closing breath together. We're going to inhale for three, two, one. We're going to exhale for five, four, three, two, one. If this episode pricked your heart or lit a spark, please subscribe and share this podcast with someone you care about. And please leave a review or send me a text so that this podcast or this episode becomes a dialogue and not just a monologue. So we could continue to grow. Cut to the chase at eight C2TC8. Her circle stands for high performing, empowered women and some men who are ready to thrive. And it is a community of accountability and us holding each other accountable together. So until next time, I am Madison Simone Chase. This has been Cut to the Chase at 8C2TC8 Her Circle. A 15 minute micro learning moment for macro living transformations. Blessings to you and yours. Until tomorrow.