The other day I was working in the garden. It was pruned rather nicely a couple of months ago by the contractor doing work on the house but the rains came lavishly afterwards and those thoroughly pruned areas sprung forth with vibrancy and vitality like never before. And all in such a short time. It seemed that after a long summer of dryness and survival mode, the floodgates of heaven flung wide open and downpour after downpour after downpour rained on the land. Thirsty, parched roots of my plants lapped up all the living waters and shot up new vibrant stems from branches that were severely pruned.
I was not too bothered by the overgrowth initially. It allowed us a bit of privacy as our property overlooked a roadway and I loved to sit on my verandah at night and in the early morning… drinking water, coffee or wine- whichever most appropriate for the time of day. As I often went out there in the early morning still clad in my night clothes and before a brush held conference with my hair, I was happy for the itty-bitty privacy I felt those overgrown branches provided. But then, little by little, they got more unruly. I noticed that our bubs was bumping into them as he rode his bicycle and scooter in and out of the yard, and once got scratched by one of the prickles and then eventually we couldn’t even walk straight into our own entryway as there was a very prickly overgrowth hanging over almost the entire way.
By then I had asked a friend who had a part-time landscaping business to attend to my yard, but I sat waiting while the overgrowth began to take over my porch. One day I remembered that I had the tool needed to get rid of them. It was in a moving box I had unpacked myself- my gigantic garden shears. I realised that no one else was going to do the hard work for me and if I wanted any change, I had to grab the proper tool for the job and simply get to it. And that I did.
As I started snipping, I began to make a few observations. There were parts of the hedge that were clearing flourishing. I dealt with those areas first because I had more to chop and snip off. As I completed that side and went to the other side, I was very perplexed. Both sides had benefited from pruning and nourishing rains yet one was woefully dwarfed while the other one thrived to the point of immense overgrowth. As I looked closer, I noticed that the dwarfed section was riddled with a complex weed network. Those weeds stole the nutrients intended for the plants and were literally stunting their growth. The weeds couldn’t kill them but they preventing the plants from thriving.
I started to pull them from the tops but then went deeper and proceed to put the roots of the weeds out. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it!
What a revelation!
Life lessons from my garden
SO often in our lives we sew good seeds. We sew them in good environments, and nourish them with water and any other supplement they may need. But somehow, sometimes, contrary negative things grow in our midst and choke out the very blessings that were intended for us. (Read The Parable of the Tares -also known as the Parable of the Weeds, Parable of the Wheat and Tares, Parable of the Wheat and Weeds, or the Parable of the Weeds in the Grain)- in Matthew 13:24-30.
We have choices. We can sit with these weeds and never fully realise the purpose and prosperity that God has created us for, or we can choose to do something about it. If you know anything about gardening, weeds are not a one time fix. They require constant attention and uprooting. You can apply weed killer but that kills everything- the good and the bad. The safest and most organic way to get rid of them is the time consuming, back breaking process of uprooting them manually. And such is life.
Once we notice that there are manifestations of things that are not good or beneficial to us, we must do something about it. We must grab the right tools for the job and get right to it. As a born again Christian, I seek my Saviour first. Because the same thing that ushers the Holy Spirit inward drives the evil things out. We have to act, make adjustments to environment and be on guard for those weeds.
We never went through all the tests and trials we have gone through only live a tiny fraction of the life we were meant to live. Whatever limiting ideologies and belief systems we have must be challenged with God’s truth for our lives … “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
In order to realise God’s plans for our lives, we must seek him diligently and in full surrender “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity (Jeremiah 29:12-13). In the NASB translation, it even says “I will restore your fortunes!”
Let’s go take back what the enemy has stolen by seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added.
If you are looking for a Christian coach to help you uproot some of those weeds in order to thrive in all areas of your life, I am available for booking coaching . You can fill out the the form here http://www.chefandsteward.com/coach/ or just email me directly at kari @ chefandsteward dot com
How do you feed your spirit? Let me know in your comments below.
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