I wrote the following on June 17, 2018...
It could not be more perfect to share with you here as we embark on our journey together.
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I found myself outside this morning at 7:30 am weeding my sidewalk . . . who does that . . . and on a Sunday to boot?!? I planned to do it yesterday but I have been putting it off for weeks anyway and still wasn’t to motivated to get it done. Isn’t that the same way we get with things that take root in our lives, too? We get comfortable with them and it’s easier to pretend they aren’t there than to deal with digging them up . . .
But you get to a point where you are tired of looking at it, tired of dealing with it. It’s ugly and you just want it gone.
That’s where I found myself this morning, so as I was on my knees getting my hands dirty, God was using this to teach me a lesson. I pray you find some value in it as well.
➡ When things get messy, you don’t want anyone to see it.
I had no intention of sharing the picture that my daughter snapped of me as she was handing over my phone - I am a mess, dirty, sweaty . . . but when you start digging around and pulling up weeds that have deep roots, things get messy. Let’s just be real about it and not try and pretend we have our gardens perfectly pruned. (I’m just glad she didn’t get a closeup 😉)
I found myself outside this morning at 7:30 am weeding my sidewalk . . . who does that . . . and on a Sunday to boot?!? I planned to do it yesterday but I have been putting it off for weeks anyway and still wasn’t to motivated to get it done. Isn’t that the same way we get with things that take root in our lives, too? We get comfortable with them and it’s easier to pretend they aren’t there than to deal with digging them up . . .
But you get to a point where you are tired of looking at it, tired of dealing with it. It’s ugly and you just want it gone.
That’s where I found myself this morning, so as I was on my knees getting my hands dirty, God was using this to teach me a lesson. I pray you find some value in it as well.
➡ When things get messy, you don’t want anyone to see it.
I had no intention of sharing the picture that my daughter snapped of me as she was handing over my phone - I am a mess, dirty, sweaty . . . but when you start digging around and pulling up weeds that have deep roots, things get messy. Let’s just be real about it and not try and pretend we have our gardens perfectly pruned. (I’m just glad she didn’t get a closeup 😉)
#1 The ants. Lots of ants. I could have given up right then, about a quarter of the way in when I pulled that weed whose root system all 1 million of them called home. They got on me and they bite. But I had a goal I had set for myself, something I wanted to accomplish, so I brushed them off and kept going.
#2 The sun . . . which got hot quick! When I started this task I was in the shade, it was more comfortable but the deeper I went and the farther along I got, I hit the sun. It got hot and uncomfortable pretty quick.
See when you start digging into your life and uncover things that need dealt with you will find yourself battling obstacles and getting uncomfortable. Press On! Satan wants nothing more than to see you quit. Don’t allow him the pleasure.
➡ You will realize how the weeds have spread. I was solely focused on my sidewalk this morning; I didn’t have time to tackle anything else. I came to this one weed and as I started pulling I realized that it was huge and had stretched over into my rose bush. I wasn’t focused on the rose bush but by getting this one weed it began to clear the path to the roses. The weeds in our life start spreading into other areas without us even realizing it. It is a process to remove them all, but once you start you will find those that are intertwined. You may not realize when you set out on the sidewalk how much impact it will actually have on the roses.
➡ God will send help. I was getting almost to the end when my daughter came outside. I asked her to get me the broom. I was planning to sweep all the dirt up I had left behind now that the weeds were gone. I was tired, but determined to finish. She brought out the broom and without even being asked, started to go behind me and sweep. She had no idea then how powerful that small gesture was to me in the state I was in. I was ready to be done, to leave that last little bit until later, but she lightened my load and gave me the extra push I needed to finish. Don’t think that you have to do all the work yourself. The hard stuff, the identifying and digging up, yes . . . but be open to letting others come alongside you and help you sweep up.
➡ Where there is breath there is life. Flowers live and breathe. Even in this weed-filled flower bed there is still life. Even in your weed-filled heart, there is still life if you have breath in your lungs. Be willing to examine yourself and do the hard work to get rid of the weeds and allow God to restore the life that has been buried. Don’t quit when it gets uncomfortable, don’t be too proud to ask for a broom and allow others to step in and help and don’t miss the beauty that is waiting to bloom.
➡ Be proud of what you accomplished. There will always be work to do. I still have 2 flower beds full of weeds, but when I walked out the front door for church, I didn’t see them. I was focused on the sidewalk and the completed work that was done there. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Celebrate the victories, no matter how big or how small. Allow those to be the fuel that powers you to tackle the next set of weeds! Tomorrow is a new day.
➡ Where there is breath there is life. Flowers live and breathe. Even in this weed-filled flower bed there is still life. Even in your weed-filled heart, there is still life if you have breath in your lungs. Be willing to examine yourself and do the hard work to get rid of the weeds and allow God to restore the life that has been buried. Don’t quit when it gets uncomfortable, don’t be too proud to ask for a broom and allow others to step in and help and don’t miss the beauty that is waiting to bloom.
➡ Be proud of what you accomplished. There will always be work to do. I still have 2 flower beds full of weeds, but when I walked out the front door for church, I didn’t see them. I was focused on the sidewalk and the completed work that was done there. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Celebrate the victories, no matter how big or how small. Allow those to be the fuel that powers you to tackle the next set of weeds! Tomorrow is a new day.
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Almost two years later, these words still ring true.
Do you have a garden bed that needs some tending?
Maybe it's actual dirt and weeds...
Maybe you are realizing you haven't been stewarding the garden of your heart the way you should be.
The thing about weeds is that they seemingly grow overnight.
Don't let them continue to multiply. You know what you need to do.
Maybe you reading this is God's way of sending help. I am only a click away.
Until next time... Blessings!
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PS: Next week we are going to dig into actual gardening tips... and you will NOT want to miss your chance to score an AWESOME FREEBIE! Here's a hint... Gardening Journal...
Ok, maybe that wasn't a hint, I pretty much just told you what it is, LOL, but just wait until you see it!
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