The last weekend in April, my husband prepared and planted our garden all by himself. It just might be the biggest garden that we have done. (Disclaimer: We are not professional gardeners, we dabble in gardening. We don’t always know what we are doing.) Enter the month of May. Wow! It was busy. Concerts, soccer practices, soccer games, meetings, graduations, finishing school, etc. I didn’t know if I was coming or going at times. I finished up school on May 24th and then I rolled up my sleeves and got busy in the garden.
When I walked down to the garden, I couldn’t believe the
transformation. All the neat and tidy rows that Kirk planted were full of
weeds. In some places it was hard to find a plant. One mound was just weeds,
the plants didn’t sprout from the seeds. What a mess! It was a daunting task
and I didn’t know if I had it in me to tackle it. What could I do but work on
one row at a time and be grateful for one row finished? I would get finished
with one section, start in a new section and watch the weeds sprout up in the
last section again. It was hard to keep up. I would watch some plants not take
after planting because the sun was just too hot. I saw the just-weeded-corn, so
use to have weeds next to it, tip over because it lost its support. Let’s just
say, I have spent a lot of time in the garden for the last month giving life support to our plants. Currently, I
am satisfied with my garden, but there will always be weeds to
stay up on, and now I need to watch for pests that may attack my plants, and keep
the garden watered on those hot days. Just because I am satisfied where I am
does not mean I can let my guard down, I need to continue to be vigilant.
Just like a garden, so is our heart. The heart is the place
where lies or truths are planted. As a Christian, it is important for me to
plant God’s Truths in my heart. I could do a great study on a section of
Scripture, I could go to a great conference that floods my heart with good
seeds, I could hear a great sermon full of Truth that I can plant in my heart,
or I can do an awesome service project where I am helping others and seeing God at
work. All those things make me busy tending the garden of my heart. Those
times, those “mountain top” experiences make me feel so good. I feel
like I am accomplished, and my heart’s garden is looking good. Unfortunately, during
these times I can get proud of the work of my garden. I become wise in my own
eyes because of everything I have learned. I feel like, “I’ve got this Christian
thing down.” Then life happens. I can’t
stay at the conference forever, the study ends, I get busy. I let my guard
down, because missing my time with the Lord “once in a while” can’t be all bad, right? That pride is a lie and
it can cause sin to enter my life. I may believe lies like, “You don’t need to
do this,” “No one will notice,” “Whatever makes you happy,” “Life is short,”
“It is your life -do what you want”. When I stop tending my heart’s garden,
weeds of lies will grow. Can you relate? Can you think of other lies we
believe?
Those weeds can grow quickly in an untended garden. You walk
through the garden of your heart and you cannot believe how full of weeds it is
and how hard the work is to get the weeds out. That is why a little Spiritual
discipline is very important. You may not “feel”
like working in the garden, but a little work now can lessen the big work you
might have to do later.
What is growing in your heart’s garden?
** I highlighted the word “feel” because feelings aren’t
necessarily truths. We need to use any “I feel” very carefully.
God bless you as you take some time to walk through
your heart’s garden.
