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Do you think you’re smarter than dirt? Well, just follow me in this column and you will chuckle at how much our hearts and minds are like dirt and will flourish or rot.

It’s our choice what we put in on a daily basis. If you think about it, dirt is where things are planted in a garden or a lawn, containers for your porch or deck, or anywhere you decide to plant things.

There are so many different kinds of dirt or soil depending on the region you live in. This is evident by vineyards, different types of grapes and how that affects the fruit in taste and color, and is critical for growing grapes for wine.

The ground might need nutrients or food before planting. We had a friend near our farm in Washington State who grew wonderful corn.

Her ears of corn were so heavy and bright yellow, some with at least 130 kernels on each ear!

We asked her what she did to prepare her soil before planting and she showed us her pigs that she corralled and watered in that area.

They jumped around, rooting up unwanted rocks, probably looking for “pig treasures (roots),” all the time fertilizing, causing an amazing, rich area for her rows of corn, that grew many stalks for family and friends.

She froze bags of corn that tasted like fresh vegetables, when cooked, all year long. She knew how to prepare, work it, water and harvest.

Our hearts are soil where we plant so many ideas, thoughts and, unfortunately, fears and imaginative worries, not realizing what we’re doing.

Why not be good, productive, heart-soil that will produce peaceful, forgiving and healthy actions?

We hear so many things, all day long, all of our lives, then we think about that in our brain, letting them travel the 12 inches down to our hearts as they sink in and begin to grow. I love the scripture in Mark 4 — The Parable of the Sower — where Jesus said in verse 24 to “Consider carefully what you hear…” So, let’s be picky about what we let go in our ears, amen?

Dirt grows whatever is put in it. A wooden fence post will eventually rot down in the dirt as it grows old and weary, or it could grow, networking below ground, traveling and multiplying magnificent trees and plants that come back every year.

Let’s keep our hearts open to receive, getting in the habit of freely reading and enjoying the Scriptures, seeing how to be and have eternal things that will not rot.

Choose the ones that are filled with life and abundance and be “Smarter than dirt.”

Kathie Deasy writes about religion for Port Arthur Newsmedia. She can be reached at kathiedeasy@hotmail.com.