I love to garden. There is just something about digging in the dirt that allows tangled thoughts in my mind to unravel. After moving into our home, I decided I needed to get some work done in the “rock garden”. The previous homeowners were very creative and they were a fan of decorative rocks. I could not figure out why there were so many mosquitoes in my backyard, but as I began poking around, I discovered that underneath the rocks were big blue plastic tarps! They did not use the fabric that allows water to flow through instead they used plastic. My backyard was a harvest field for mosquitoes!
What started out as a simple project turned out to be a mission to rid my yard of stagnant water, so I began the backbreaking work of moving all the decorative rock and tearing up the tarps. I must admit I grumbled quite a bit! Who wouldn’t, but when it was all done, I felt accomplished! Job done, right?
Ahhh! Here is the rub, in the midst of all of my work, I forgot one really important step. I tore up THEIR layer of protection against weeds, but I did not put down my own. I noticed that later in the summer a few weeds began growing and I would pull them out. Funny thing about weeds… they grow rapidly! I got busy and quit pulling them, until one day I realized that in my busyness the weeds overgrew everything else.
So once again, I spent a day in the sweltering heat of the summer and pulled up every single weed! This time I laid down a layer of fabric weed guard before shoveling the dirt back in place. While I was doing all that, my heart changed. Trust me at the beginning, I grumbled and I grumbled a lot!
But then the Holy Spirit began to speak…
This weed barrier is like God’s Word. Obviously our time with God is not a sure fire way to protect us from everything, but if we spend time with God every day and get into his Word, then we are better able to handle all that comes our way and it protects us from things taking root in our lives that don’t belong. (2 Timothy 3:16)
The soil in my backyard is clay! I have never seen anything like it! It is hard, thick, and unyielding. It is heavy and a pain to work with. It seemingly grows weeds really well, but it is hard to get other things to grow. I was reminded that sometimes the soil of my heart grows things, but is my heart really nourishing the things it should? Is there areas of my heart that have become hard, thick, or unyielding? (Psalm 51: 17)
When I was pulling weeds, there were some stubborn ones! The hard soil just wouldn’t let them go. The roots of the weeds had grown down deep! The only solution was to grab my shovel and dig away. I was reminded of the times when I held onto stuff that was not good for me. Where I thought I was holding onto the right things, but in all reality, it was choking everything else out in my life. Has God ever prompted you to let go of something and yet you stubbornly hold on? Yep I have been there too! (Hebrews 12: 1-3).
The challenging thing about weeding is that sometimes they seem to sprout as you are trying to clear them. There were a few times that I thought I had everything cleared out and I would look back and I would see that I missed a few! How often does that happen to us? We think we have it all handled, but things come up through the cracks? Sin is entangling. Sin is relentless. Sin requires more from us to clear it away – Sin requires a great, big God that can wipe it out and make us like new. (Psalm 51: 1-12).
On that summer day, I didn’t just spend the day moving rocks, digging in the dirt, and pulling weeds. Instead, God used this rock garden of weeds to remind me of all the times that God met me in the dirt of my life. As the Holy Spirit whispered to me that afternoon, it was no longer a chore, but this beautiful day that reminded me how much God has taught me.
So how about you, how are you?
Are you spending enough time with God?
Are there areas of your heart that have become unyielding? Is your heart growing the right things?
Are you holding onto anything that God would want you to let go of?
Do you have a sin issue that needs to be dealt with once and for all?
I promise you — PROMISE YOU that God will meet you in the “dirt” of your lives, just invite Him in! Afraid that you are beyond help, that your struggle is too big, too awful. I have something really awesome to tell you… HE IS NOT AFRAID!
Don’t be fooled… God is bigger and greater than anything. He can look at a valley of dead bones and bring them to life (Ezekiel 37:1-10). He can look at a blank canvas and paint it with galaxies (Genesis 1:14). He can delve into the depths of the human heart and make it beat again (John 11:38-44). He can rescue… heal…forgive…pursue…and love in ways that is unfathomable! And He does EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.