Digging Up Weeds

Dear Reader,

A few months ago, Ray and I picked up a bunch of garden tools so I could get started on my garden. Any garden needs a good foundation, so I soon set to digging up and ripping out the overgrown mass of weeds. With the Florida sun beating down, it did not take long for sweat beads to form on my brow. My legs ached from perching alongside the garden. I did not complete the entire task in one day. It took a couple more attempts before I could proudly stand before my house, feeling accomplished. There had been dirt under there after all! All it needed was a little more work, some fertilizer perhaps, and then flowers.

Unfortunately, our budget was tight and we were unable to invest in anymore gardening supplies soon enough. That, and I figured once it was done it would remain done. I do not know what put such a silly idea in my head. I suppose wishful thinking. Now, my once trimmed and prepped garden is completely overgrown again. It is quite a mess. How did I ever manage to get it to a manageable state?

Yesterday, I likened spiritual strongholds to this predicament I am in with my wannabe garden. In my life, there are struggles that seem to creep up all the time. Fear is one example. Moments come where I say "Enough is enough!" and start hacking away at the weeds of fear choking my walk. Sometimes, I get them down to the roots and on stronger days I can rip them clear out of the dirt. After one of my more determined attacks, I see some healthy plants start to sprout. A week later, I turn and find that I am knee deep in an overgrown garden again. It does not take long for the bad things to grow and fester. In order for the good things, like flowers, to blossom, they need care. They require nurturing. To truly grow, I need to make an effort to weed out the bad things that sustain my strongholds, like that of fear.

The shelves at the home improvement stores are lined with all sorts of lawn cutting tools and miracle products that do away with the pests and plants you do not want. I keep pulling those products off the shelf (self-help books, friendly advice etc.) but I keep forgetting to seek out the ultimate Gardener. It sounds so simple. It may sound cliche. However, there is a reason why that is the conclusion I keep coming to: He is the one and only answer I need. My fears are easier to handle when I let Him help me, when I let Him dig up the roots. On my own, I am just a small woman with strained muscles, scraped knees and sweat pouring down my face, trying to get myself back to where I can function, with no time to recover before the next attack. With Him, there is a breath of air between attacks and enough time for me to be strengthened.

Similar imagery is illustrated in the Bible, especially in Matthew 13 through "The Parable of the Sower." I guess it must be a logical comparison :) It helps to look at things in a different way, like using allagories. I hope that as my week wears on, followed by months and years, that I start to tend to the garden of my life a bit better. Perhaps, I will be able to write to you about how God ripped the constricting, thorn bush of fear from my life. Until then, I will continue to share the journey.

Sincerely, Melissa