Monday I weeded the garden for an hour and a half ... and only got through about a third of it. It's just been too hot lately- the temperatures here have been in the triple digits but it needed to be done. I didn't want the weeds choking the plants out, plus it just wasn't looking all that pretty anymore. All my free time in the garden lately has been spent watering, the heat has dried everything out so that it's a daily need.
The garden... such a symbol of the soul.
I know I'm repeating myself on some things but when I go out to the garden and really spend time out there I feel like I can just see the scripture through new eyes and with new understanding. Forgive me if I bore you but I just can't help myself sometimes.
I've come to notice that hydrangeas are called that for a reason- the 'hydro' thing is so true- they suck up the water and look sad and droopy if they go a day without it.
I've noticed people are that way too.
A garden without water is such a sad thing. In this heat we missed just a couple of days and some of our plants look pathetic. Some will perk back up if I baby them back- coming back multiple times with water so it really has a chance to seep into the ground- not just run off. In my life I've had to ease back into quiet time with God... I was too angry early on... many verses just had no meaning to me at that point- they just ran off. Little by little I'm finding nourishment again but this heat can zap the energy quickly if you don't keep the waters flowing.
Some people have said they feel their relationship with God is at it's strongest when the heat in their lives is turned up... I don't know that I can say that's true for me- I've felt my faith has remained strong but there were times the relationship was a little one sided- but then there have been times in my life that things are going well and I haven't spent the time in prayer and God's word like I should either. I let the weeds choke out the plants.
Did I mention that I weeded for an hour and a half in the heat and only got a third of the garden done? Weeds seem to be drought resistant, they grow no matter what you do. Even some 'good' plants like grass needs to be pulled if they're growing in the wrong place. They choke the other plants out, they suck up all the nourishment needed for the flowers to bloom. There are things in life like this that may be good and harmless but in the wrong place they can keep us from blossoming.
(see my lovely big bucket of weeds in the middle- that was only a drop!)
Weeds can also be tricky little suckers. When some are first coming up it's hard to tell if they're weeds or new shoots of the planted seeds. There's a balancing act between just sitting back and seeing the growth that transpires to make sure it's a weed and not a plant and yanking the weeds before their roots really take hold. I'm getting better at knowing the difference right away. Again, can't life be like that- there are things that look like positive growth so we allow habits to form... only to discover that we now have a bad habit that we have to break.
If you look closely at the picture above you'll notice that the yellow flowers on the left are quite a bit larger than the flowers on the right. They were planted at exactly the same time. I'm not sure if the soil conditions are that much different less than a foot apart or if I didn't loosen the roots enough or what the determining factor is but there's no denying that there is indeed a difference. I don't know why people's walks of faith are different when given similar situations, I don't know why there are times I question and other times I just trust, I don't know why but we all grow differently... but, hopefully at least, we're all growing. I'm grateful for the following verses because it's comforting knowing that as much of a control freak as I am, I am not in control.
I can't force the plants on the right to grow to the same size as those on the left, I can't take growth from one to give to the other so things look equal, I planted them and am obedient in watering them (and try to be diligent about weeding them) but the rest isn't up to me. My life is the same way, sometimes I get frustrated because I feel like I should be in a different spiritual place or a different emotional state but I need to remember that it's my job to be obedient in seeking God and let God take care of my heart.
If you've gotten this far I thank you for putting up with my garden analogies... I can't end this post without including John 15 though... I'll let it speak for itself (I think the Jesus is more than capable of that).
John 15
The Vine and the Branches
1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.
thanks for the love you guys have shown to me on this journey!!
The garden... such a symbol of the soul.
I know I'm repeating myself on some things but when I go out to the garden and really spend time out there I feel like I can just see the scripture through new eyes and with new understanding. Forgive me if I bore you but I just can't help myself sometimes.
I've come to notice that hydrangeas are called that for a reason- the 'hydro' thing is so true- they suck up the water and look sad and droopy if they go a day without it.
I've noticed people are that way too.
Isaiah 1:30
You will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water.
A garden without water is such a sad thing. In this heat we missed just a couple of days and some of our plants look pathetic. Some will perk back up if I baby them back- coming back multiple times with water so it really has a chance to seep into the ground- not just run off. In my life I've had to ease back into quiet time with God... I was too angry early on... many verses just had no meaning to me at that point- they just ran off. Little by little I'm finding nourishment again but this heat can zap the energy quickly if you don't keep the waters flowing.
Some people have said they feel their relationship with God is at it's strongest when the heat in their lives is turned up... I don't know that I can say that's true for me- I've felt my faith has remained strong but there were times the relationship was a little one sided- but then there have been times in my life that things are going well and I haven't spent the time in prayer and God's word like I should either. I let the weeds choke out the plants.
Did I mention that I weeded for an hour and a half in the heat and only got a third of the garden done? Weeds seem to be drought resistant, they grow no matter what you do. Even some 'good' plants like grass needs to be pulled if they're growing in the wrong place. They choke the other plants out, they suck up all the nourishment needed for the flowers to bloom. There are things in life like this that may be good and harmless but in the wrong place they can keep us from blossoming.
(see my lovely big bucket of weeds in the middle- that was only a drop!)
Weeds can also be tricky little suckers. When some are first coming up it's hard to tell if they're weeds or new shoots of the planted seeds. There's a balancing act between just sitting back and seeing the growth that transpires to make sure it's a weed and not a plant and yanking the weeds before their roots really take hold. I'm getting better at knowing the difference right away. Again, can't life be like that- there are things that look like positive growth so we allow habits to form... only to discover that we now have a bad habit that we have to break.
Isaiah 61:11
For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
If you look closely at the picture above you'll notice that the yellow flowers on the left are quite a bit larger than the flowers on the right. They were planted at exactly the same time. I'm not sure if the soil conditions are that much different less than a foot apart or if I didn't loosen the roots enough or what the determining factor is but there's no denying that there is indeed a difference. I don't know why people's walks of faith are different when given similar situations, I don't know why there are times I question and other times I just trust, I don't know why but we all grow differently... but, hopefully at least, we're all growing. I'm grateful for the following verses because it's comforting knowing that as much of a control freak as I am, I am not in control.
1 Corinthians 3:5-7 (New International Version)
5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
I can't force the plants on the right to grow to the same size as those on the left, I can't take growth from one to give to the other so things look equal, I planted them and am obedient in watering them (and try to be diligent about weeding them) but the rest isn't up to me. My life is the same way, sometimes I get frustrated because I feel like I should be in a different spiritual place or a different emotional state but I need to remember that it's my job to be obedient in seeking God and let God take care of my heart.
If you've gotten this far I thank you for putting up with my garden analogies... I can't end this post without including John 15 though... I'll let it speak for itself (I think the Jesus is more than capable of that).
John 15
The Vine and the Branches
1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.
thanks for the love you guys have shown to me on this journey!!
Comments
Your hard work pays off. Your garden is lovely. I'd love to come and sit in it and have an iced tea.