Being weed free

A few summers ago, I spent a lot of time farming in a virtual world. It was almost an addiction.  I was often frustrated with myself for wasting so much valuable time playing silly games on the computer but then I would remember that a harvest would be ready and it needed to be gathered before it died and so the circle continued.  I couldn’t bear for a crop to be wasted and I was enjoying the interaction with a group of my friends who became neighbours – not just with me but with one another. None of them knew each other before we started the game so it seemed rather special that they were enjoying the interaction as well.  Never-the-less, I was spending far too much time on the computer and not enough doing more productive things in the real world. 

I told myself that farming in a virtual world made me more aware of my real garden and how important it is to do things properly if I want flowers to pick and fruit and veges to eat.  Every evening I tended my virtual farm, clearing weeds, watering and harvesting crops, plowing the land and resowing ready for the next day. I even visited neighbouring farms and helped them as well.

And, almost every day I wandered around my real property, hose or watering can at the ready, and tended my small crop of both edibles and pickibles. But, although I had a near perfect garden in the virtual world, I didn’t make the time to deal with the weeds in the real world. Consequently they grew bigger and stronger without me really noticing until all of a sudden they seemed to have taken over.  I missed seeing that some veges were ready for picking and flowers were being smothered under a mass of weeds.

  

I was pottering about outside and suddenly became aware of weeds everywhere.  I leaned down and pulled at one … it came out easily as did the next half dozen or so. The soil was dry and loose. Then I spotted some bigger ones and gave a little tug. Nothing happened. I tugged again and still was unable to shift it. So I got down on my knees and using my hands, cleared around the main stem until I could get my fingers underneath, and then I pulled… this time successfully.  The next weed was not so easy – it snapped as I pulled it and the roots stayed behind in the ground. This one required a trowel to loosen the soil before I could remove it completely.

I wandered over to a flower plot and stared in amazement at how the weeds had overtaken it.  I had weeded it earlier in the season and foolishly expected it to still look as good as it had that day. I could see lovely flowers above the weeds – indeed I had been picking them almost every day – but it wasn’t until I started to clear the weeds away that I found there were even more beautiful flowers lying unseen underneath.

All this gave me pause for thought. What am I to learn from this God, I asked.  I knew without a doubt there was a lesson there but what was it? Every time since then that I have gardened, God has spoken to me as the master gardener and illustrated many messages.

So today I thought it might be interesting to share some of these and to look at the Christian journey as a gardener.

God became the master gardener at creation. In Genesis 2 we read

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.  The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil........ The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

The garden was perfect.  Creation was perfect, and man was in charge of the garden.  All things were in place and ready.  But, something happened.  The garden became broken.  

In any garden there are rules. Some of you will know about companion planting where one plant supports another whether it be by attracting the bees because of its colour or emitting some odour that keeps the bugs away. Conversely some plants will overshadow another plant so it cannot take in sunshine.  Sometimes a plant pulls too much of one kind of nutrient from the soil so that both types can’t grow well in close proximity. 

In God’s garden, there was only one rule.   Adam and Eve were supposed to leave a specific tree alone.   

You know how that turned out.  Adam and Eve didn’t do as they were told and the perfection of creation was broken.  It wasn’t perfect anymore, and sin entered the world.  And we have had to work hard to keep our gardens weed free ever since.

Genesis 3:17-19

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you;  through painful toil you will eat food from it  all the days of your life.  It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.  By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

For some people, gardening is their passion. They love to spend all their time outside, digging, weeding and planting and can happily spend a whole day doing nothing else. As much as I enjoy a neat tidy garden and its produce, I’d much rather spend my time doing other things. However, the desire to be in the garden comes upon me occasionally and I might have a day when I am very enthusiastic and energetic but it doesn’t last long. But I expect the efforts I make to be long lasting and feel very frustrated when the weeds sprout up again. And rather than blame my own lack of discipline = because surely a half hour every day would be far more productive than 2 or 3 hours every few months – I blame circumstances which prevent me from doing what should be done. Sometimes, my Bible reading is a bit like that too … I am just grateful that God speaks to me in more than one way.

Let’s look at weeds for a bit.  I am not going to quote scripture as we work through these = I want you just to think about the application and the Christian parallel.

·        Weeds are plants we really don't want around. They are very effective at camouflage and can smother the healthy plants. They grow very quickly and often are not noticed until they are well established in the soil.  Some are easy to remove but others require more effort.  One thing I do know is that weeds must be removed completely or they grow again. Think of weeds as sin, bad habits or distractions from God.  If we allow these to grow unchecked, we are in trouble. Even just tossing them aside is not good enough – I cleared a large plot of ground and left the weeds just lying in a pile.  It wasn’t long before they took root and re-established themselves.

·    They grow faster than most other plants – After some rain and warm temperatures, some appear from nowhere overnight. I don’t remember ever having that problem with flowers and veges.

·      They are hard to kill  - If left to nature, flowers always lose out to weeds.  When's the last time you saw roses growing along the sides of State Highway 1?  But there are the weeds, proudly jutting from the cracks in the pavement. 

·     They are self-centered - They draw away nutrients from the soil and steal warming rays from the sun, making it more difficult for the good plants to thrive. 

·        Some weeds leave a long trail behind … e,g, convolvulous.  You have to go back to the very beginning to remove it.  Meanwhile it has beautiful flowers which trick you into thinking it is something it isn’t.  I left a weed in my garden because I didn’t know what it was … it was pretty which was good enough for me at the time. But after a few weeks it was obviously a weed – it had more than double in size and had covered up one of my fruit shrubs and when cleared, I found some giant sized fruit just waiting to be picked.

·        Cooch – growing underneath the ground – unseen. Tangled with roots of good plants and I had to remove some perfectly good vegetable plants at the same time if I wanted to remove this weed completely. I was able to save some of the veges but had to move them from the place they were originally planted.

·        You have to get down on your knees and get your hands dirty when you garden. And you might hurt for a day or two after weeding – depending on how much effort you put into it. But the pain eventually passes and you get a lot of pleasure from seeing that well tended garden.

What can we do to make sure our gardens are places where the color and fragrance of God can be seen?  Here are some suggestions:

·        Know your flowers - It would be very difficult to know the vast array of weeds out there – there are thousands of varieties.  But we usually recognize the good plants.  Likewise, we should spend time learning the truth of God's word and coming to discern the presence and leading of His Spirit in people and situations, . You don't need to know what every weed looks like, but being thoroughly acquainted with your flowers enables you to eliminate the intruder quickly without destroying your beauties.

·        Check for weeds regularly.   Successful gardening requires discipline and you need to check the progress of good plants. I love going out in the morning to see what seed has popped its head above ground.  There are times when it’s hard to tell if it’s a young plant or a weed and you have to wait to see how it develops but keeping a close watch on your plantings will usually reveal those intruders that would do harm to your garden.

·    Because weeds grow fast and are hard to kill, the wise gardener removes them when they are young.  Once you see a small weed it is time to go in for the kill. If you don't get the root, it will reappear and spread.  When we become aware of spiritual concerns in our lives whether it be at church, family or social groups, we should confront them sooner, not later.  Waiting too long can make removal much harder in the future. 

·        Plant flowers, and use lots of mulch. The best way to prevent the onset of weeds is to plant lots of flowers and cover the rest of the bed with a thick layer of mulch.  The flowers grow and shut out the light to the weeds, preventing them from growing.  As well, the mulch chokes out the undesirable shoots and keeps the nutrients for the flowers only. 

·        Keep your garden watered. One day after heavy overnight rain, I decided to clear a few weeds. I was amazed to find the soil was dry.  It looked wet but when I scratched the surface, it was clear the rain had not gone deep enough to do long term good. There have been times when I have watered the garden, especially the pots, and watched the water either run straight through and out the bottom, or sit in large puddles on the surface.  This generally means the soil is very dry and needs gentle watering over a much longer period.

·        Fertilise the garden and keep it bug free.

Cultivating good intentions, Godly habits and loving acts is the way to weed prevention.  If the bad can choke out the good, then the good can choke out the bad.  Romans 12, ends with these words:  'Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.' (v.21)  Great gardens don't have any room for weeds.  Yes, keeping them tidy is tiring and costly, but the alternative is to allow the glory God intended for the lives of His children to be swallowed up by thorns of defeat and pain.

Paul says, See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. (Hebrews 12:15 KJV). The reason weeds take over a garden is because the gardener doesn't pull them up fast enough. When your garden is choked by weeds you can't say, 'I don't know how it happened!' When you are 'looking diligently' you will see them moving in. The only way to stay free of the weeds the enemy wants to sow in your life is to be attentive to the condition of your heart.

 (Galatians 6: 7 - 10), Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,

This Bible verse makes sense when it comes to growing a good crop, but the verse is really talking about something called a spiritual harvest.  Jesus wants us to lead lives that will please Him,

Just to sum up briefly

·        Without water, the plants die. Water gives life. The Word of God is life. Without the Word of God, faith dies

·     Without fertilizer, the plants are puny.  Fertiliser is encouragement and fellowship with the Holy Spirit.  Without either of these, we don’t grow but remain stunted and small.

·   If plants aren’t harvested when they are ready, they wilt. If we ignore someone’s gifts and talents, then that person can be discouraged and withdrawn and will shrivel up inside.

·     If you are serious about removing the weeds from your life – get down on your knees. Talk to God about it. John 15:5  "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.

·        And the best thing of all – even when the weeds take over the garden, flowers still bloom.  They might not be seen but they are still there. Remove the weeds and the beauty can be seen again.

Clearing the clutter

This is the message I shared at church a few weeks ago.

I am your hands and feet … these are the words God said to me a few Sundays ago during worship. I should have brought them to the church at the time but I was unsure as I had always taken the other approach that we, the Christians, are God’s hands and feet and not the other way around. So I hesitated while I thought about that and then the opportunity was lost. But God doesn’t give up and he has reminded me of his words often since then.

I am going to bring a few scriptures he has shown me as I have pondered his words and share a brief testimony of how he touches our lives and brings encouragement even in the darkest moments.

The first scripture is from Psalm 37 V4 – Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Then in the same Psalm, Vs 23 – 26 we read: The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be cast down, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.

And finally, Prov 3: 5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

These verses tell me that God is ever present and when we put him first in everything and follow him, he does indeed become our hands and our feet. He directs the steps we take and the service we give through our actions. It’s a subtle difference from us being his hands and feet and I am not sure that I have fully grasped it yet. I do know however, that if we are to reach out to the lost, we will get our feet and hands dirty as we pass through the mess and dust of the world. But if he is our hands and our feet, then we will constantly be cleansed as we journey with him and are transformed into his likeness.

Many of you will be aware that my life has changed this year and I have become the hands and feet – and sometimes the eyes and ears – of my aged parents. My 89 year old dad has gone into permanent rest home care and my 92 year old mother and I have become a blended household ... We have bought a new place together and are still trying to make two homes fit into one almost three months after shifting in together. We have had two garage sales, redistributed bits and pieces among various family members, donated to charities and still I can’t park my car in the garage.

It’s been a challenging journey. We have all had to make sacrifices. Mum and I have had to clear the clutter from our two homes and adjust to living together again – something we haven’t done for more than 40 years. For Dad, his home is now a small room and his belongings are few.

I was visiting Dad one day when I noted that he was doing what appeared to be an inventory of his belongings. He opened each drawer and was checking that all was as it ought to be. That’s there and that’s there, he was saying as he touched his razor, his little radio, his wallet, and his glasses. I realised that he did this most times I visited and felt a moment’s sadness that his life was now condensed into such a tiny space. What an adjustment he has had to make, I thought to myself. Is this what it all comes down to in the end?

I looked around his room and saw the family photos on the wall, and one or two inexpensive trinkets given as gifts and always treasured. There is a hand carved horse pulling a wagon, made by an old friend who has been dead for years, a sand picture and paper weight with dancing dolphins. We have taken Dad other “treasures” to have around him (including his war medals) but they have always been sent back for one reason or another.

Then, as I was putting something away in his drawer, I spotted a small hand held cross just like this one, nestling in the corner nearest his bed. And I realised that Dad now has the greatest treasure of all. This cross - he calls it his comforter - was given to him last year when he was so ill we thought we were going to say goodbye. As he lay in his hospital bed, he held on to that cross and often we would see his hand searching for it when it had fallen from his grasp. To understand the significance of this you need to know that my Dad has avoided churches and anything religious ever since he was a boy. He has always stated that if everyone followed Jesus’ example, the world would be a better place but never went to church until he started accompanying my mother in the last few years – mainly because he didn’t like being by himself at home. More than 25 years ago, I had a dream in which he and my Mum came through my back door with him grinning like a Cheshire cat. Go on, tell Barbara your news, said my mother. And in this dream, he announced “I have decided to follow your God for all the days I have left”. The words were so unusual and not the way my father would normally speak and that vision and what I believe was a promise from God, has never left me. Dad is now nearly 90. He doesn’t have that many days left. I believe God is touching him in a very special way.

For him to accept that little cross is a miracle. Now it goes with him wherever he goes … it’s in his pocket whenever he leaves his room. I often see him patting his pockets just checking on its whereabouts. Now he knows what he values and he wants nothing more. I have never heard him complain or lament about the things he no longer has but he does get anxious if he cannot feel that cross when he seeks it out.

As I have been reflecting on this, God reminded me that we come into this life with nothing and we take nothing with us when we leave. And, although we may leave some material wealth for others to enjoy, the most important legacy we can leave is how we lived our lives. When we are gone, all that remains of us are the memories. And it hit me again that without God we have nothing – everything we gather in the course of a lifetime is temporary and can be gone in an instant. But God is eternal and unchanging. And just as I am now the hands and feet of my parents – doing the things that they can no longer do and watching out for them at all times, so is God being my hands and feet and watching over me – and you.

As the stewards serve the communion this morning, I am going to read Psalm 37. When I have finished, eat and drink together in joyful remembrance of what Christ did for us that day at Calvary.

So much to catch up on

So much time has passed without me blogging and now all of a sudden I feel inspired to write again. Not sure how long this will last so there will be a mad rush of posts over the next little while.
One of the special things that happened for me in 2011 was my 60th birthday.  I had hoped to reach the magical 69.9kg in time for the event but didnt quite manage that.  However, I had such a wonderful time with family who also happen to be my best friends as well. And the icing on the cake was the birthday song my daughters wrote and sang ... it made me cry then and I still shed a tear when I listen again.  Very special.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0mSqWST7x0

2012 ... A new year .... A new me

My last post indicated I was on a weight loss and fitness programme and I was pretty excited about reaching 79kgs. I am now almost 70kg and hoping to see the sexy 60s sometime in the next few weeks. I am a new shape and have a new found confidence to go with it. I will put up some photos as soon as I work out how to do that on an iPad ... My 60th birthday gift from my children in October. I am still learning how to drive this thing and as the need arises, I take the time to work it out. Maisy has just decided to show me how much she loves me and is making typing very difficult. Time to do something else for a while but I will be back ...am feeling inspired to write at present.