This morning, I decided to go work in our home garden to pull some weeds that I had been neglecting. It’s easy to do that, like neglecting self-care and quiet time with God. I know that you’re supposed to make time, be intentional about it and all, and it’s one thing to say it, but it’s another to follow through. Like Joyce Meyer quoted James in one of her videos I watched the other day, we need to be “doers of the Word”, not just hear it.
So, join me in the garden for a minute as I share a few lessons that I heard today. I have been struggling the past year, or really two, to just enjoy Worshipping God. It’s easy to be distracted by other people and situations and instead of giving those to God, I tried to take control of it all. The more I tried to control it, the less control I had. (At least that’s how it has been for me.)
A few months ago, a preacher in a sermon said “worship starts within.” Fittingly, that is where the Bible and I began this morning: in the garden. I struggle to find the “right” things to pray, so this morning, as I worked on the garden, I let my mind wander and God showed me these lessons.
The first was about onions. Yes, I let my mind wander to the movie Shrek and how he descibed he was like an onion. It reminded me that we all may feel like an ogre: an outcast, strange, or weird in some way and it may make us want to hide from the world. But we are all made to be different and each of us offer our own “flavor” to the world. Also, not everyone likes onions and that’s ok too. Find people that do like and accept you for who you are.
The second was about carrots. We planted the seeds close to one another and some of them were hard to pull out. But, once I got one out, it was easier to get the next. The lesson was that we need others to be there with us in the dark, but we also need to encourage each other to get into the light with Christ. Being pulled out of the ground can also be a way of getting out of our comfort zone. We can be stubborn so God may need to pull us out instead of just going willingly. Yes, my carrots were more like baby carrots, but we need to celebrate all progress, no matter how small. Both the onions and carrots grew underground. We also all grow in places people can’t see until we show it in our words and actions.
The third was the weeds. Some were tough to yank out, like bad habits, and it took time and effort. I needed to get the weeds out of the way to be able to let the plants, the good fruit, grow. The weeds can take over the garden if we let them, like not taking care of ourselves. This includes how we talk to ourselves. If we look at only the weeds, our bad traits or even lies we tell ourselves, like no one cares, the weeds will take over. Once I got the weeds out of the way, I could pick my tomatoes, good fruit, to enjoy and focus on the positives around me. We need to tend to our own gardens to be more able to share our good fruit, Good News, with others.
As I was working on writing this, my husband came in and told me that I must’ve scared off the snake that usually resides in the garden. I laughed and told him that I was working on this blog, relating it to the Garden of Eden so it was only fitting he mentioned a snake. I told him that God’s presence was strong in the garden so it must’ve scared the snake away. Another good lesson-stay close to God. There are temptations and distactions all around us to wander away, especially when we fixate our thoughts around them.
Like I began this blog, it can be easy to say that we’re going to do all the “right” things as Christians. We all fall short and God knows that and loves us anyway. We are all made clean with Christ’s sacrifice. I will keep listening and I hope you do too! And remember, we can only get though things with God’s help. Thank you God for putting me in the garden with You today!