I found Jesus in the flowerbed....again!!
(The beginning of this is an old blog, this post is new along with the blog as a whole)
In the spring fever mood I "suffered" from today due to the beautiful weather, I decided to start on the flower bed in front of my house. I had the fresh dirt and the flowers all ready, but when I looked at the flower bed it was not ready. The once fresh and fertile soil was now covered with weeds, rocks, a mossy like blanket and leaves. The top soil was dry and cracked. I knew my flowers would never survive nor would they be admired for their true beauty with all the ugly surrounding them. So, I started pulling weeds. The more I pulled up, the deeper they got. I pulled up weeds, rocks and leaves all by hand. Yet, the more I removed the exterior, the more I saw what was beneath, which was that fresh and fertile soil. I stopped. I sat on my knees, with the sun beating my brow and the fresh breeze caressing my skin. I pondered how this "gardening" was so much like what God has to do in our lives...in my life. When I was young, with the childlike faith, I was that fresh and fertile soil. However, thru the years, my faith never ceased, it was just covered with me. I am the ugly. Thru the years, with each hurt, the root of bitterness takes place, without one even knowing. Thru the years, as logic over takes and the knowledge of man, doubt is planted. Thru the years, religion overpowers the relationship and it’s just that...a religion. Then one day, you look and your heart...my heart is nothing but a bed of weeds, rocks, a mossy like blanket and leaves. But God comes in with His gardening hands and prepares the bed of the heart for His flowers. Now, my heart blooms for Him, with that child-like faith He loves and I need so desperately.
Isaiah 61:3 "Bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
Last night I was working in my flowerbed once again and I was reminded of this blog from 2007. I was once again pulling weeds and pine straw that covered the beautiful soil. This flowerbed weathered a lot this past winter and ironically enough I have weathered a lot since my last blog about this flowerbed. Many processes of life I have endured and some I am still enduring however isn’t that what life is all about, these processes that bring us closer to Him. Last night as I was pondering everything in my life that has happened since 2007 and how much I have changed since then, my thoughts were interrupted by this uninvited nagging creeper dog. Yes, apparently the creeper magnet even works on animals. This dog was creeping around the yard all the while barking relentlessly at me. I started to really get annoyed because I could no longer hear the peaceful birds song of the evening. All I heard was this nagging bark by a dog I don’t know!! Then the wheels went to 5th gear, the wheels in my brain that is. As I was going through this process of preparing the flowerbed for another spring by weeding out and toiling the fresh soil and thinking about the above blog, this dog then took on a whole other role. This dog represented people or that nagging person that always disturbs your peace. I know I have that person in my life and her name is Faith! If I stopped, doing and was still I could still hear that peace melody and I smiled. The dog eventually moved on and I laughed at the analogy that God once again provided in this flowerbed. I went on smiling and enjoying the evening and the sounds of nature waking up from a bitter winter when I found a long worm. I hate worms!! I hate anything that slithers or crawls or jumps or croaks. However, when I saw the worm instead of killing it with my pink shovel, like I did many times in 2007; I remembered what my dad told me. The worms are good and help with the soil and fertilization and stuff (I’m not gonna pretend to really know everything I just know I was told not to kill the worms cause they are your flowerbeds friend.) So, I buried the worm so I didn’t have to watch it squirm about with its slimy little creepy body…I get shivers just thinking about it! However, God once again used this in that sometimes life’s worms are necessary in the process, in the fertilization of our hearts. They may be ugly, they may even be the ugliest of ugly and big and heartbreaking but they are a necessity in the process of life; in growth; in fertilization of the soil. So whatever process you may be in know that He has you in the palm of your hand, yes even your worms!! I know I daily have to remind myself of this great revelation.
"I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;Your walls are continually before Me." Isaiah 15b-16
Pictures of the Process
And because it’s a process, I’m not done yet, so I will share the finished product later ;)
In the spring fever mood I "suffered" from today due to the beautiful weather, I decided to start on the flower bed in front of my house. I had the fresh dirt and the flowers all ready, but when I looked at the flower bed it was not ready. The once fresh and fertile soil was now covered with weeds, rocks, a mossy like blanket and leaves. The top soil was dry and cracked. I knew my flowers would never survive nor would they be admired for their true beauty with all the ugly surrounding them. So, I started pulling weeds. The more I pulled up, the deeper they got. I pulled up weeds, rocks and leaves all by hand. Yet, the more I removed the exterior, the more I saw what was beneath, which was that fresh and fertile soil. I stopped. I sat on my knees, with the sun beating my brow and the fresh breeze caressing my skin. I pondered how this "gardening" was so much like what God has to do in our lives...in my life. When I was young, with the childlike faith, I was that fresh and fertile soil. However, thru the years, my faith never ceased, it was just covered with me. I am the ugly. Thru the years, with each hurt, the root of bitterness takes place, without one even knowing. Thru the years, as logic over takes and the knowledge of man, doubt is planted. Thru the years, religion overpowers the relationship and it’s just that...a religion. Then one day, you look and your heart...my heart is nothing but a bed of weeds, rocks, a mossy like blanket and leaves. But God comes in with His gardening hands and prepares the bed of the heart for His flowers. Now, my heart blooms for Him, with that child-like faith He loves and I need so desperately.
Isaiah 61:3 "Bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
Last night I was working in my flowerbed once again and I was reminded of this blog from 2007. I was once again pulling weeds and pine straw that covered the beautiful soil. This flowerbed weathered a lot this past winter and ironically enough I have weathered a lot since my last blog about this flowerbed. Many processes of life I have endured and some I am still enduring however isn’t that what life is all about, these processes that bring us closer to Him. Last night as I was pondering everything in my life that has happened since 2007 and how much I have changed since then, my thoughts were interrupted by this uninvited nagging creeper dog. Yes, apparently the creeper magnet even works on animals. This dog was creeping around the yard all the while barking relentlessly at me. I started to really get annoyed because I could no longer hear the peaceful birds song of the evening. All I heard was this nagging bark by a dog I don’t know!! Then the wheels went to 5th gear, the wheels in my brain that is. As I was going through this process of preparing the flowerbed for another spring by weeding out and toiling the fresh soil and thinking about the above blog, this dog then took on a whole other role. This dog represented people or that nagging person that always disturbs your peace. I know I have that person in my life and her name is Faith! If I stopped, doing and was still I could still hear that peace melody and I smiled. The dog eventually moved on and I laughed at the analogy that God once again provided in this flowerbed. I went on smiling and enjoying the evening and the sounds of nature waking up from a bitter winter when I found a long worm. I hate worms!! I hate anything that slithers or crawls or jumps or croaks. However, when I saw the worm instead of killing it with my pink shovel, like I did many times in 2007; I remembered what my dad told me. The worms are good and help with the soil and fertilization and stuff (I’m not gonna pretend to really know everything I just know I was told not to kill the worms cause they are your flowerbeds friend.) So, I buried the worm so I didn’t have to watch it squirm about with its slimy little creepy body…I get shivers just thinking about it! However, God once again used this in that sometimes life’s worms are necessary in the process, in the fertilization of our hearts. They may be ugly, they may even be the ugliest of ugly and big and heartbreaking but they are a necessity in the process of life; in growth; in fertilization of the soil. So whatever process you may be in know that He has you in the palm of your hand, yes even your worms!! I know I daily have to remind myself of this great revelation.
"I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;Your walls are continually before Me." Isaiah 15b-16
Pictures of the Process
And because it’s a process, I’m not done yet, so I will share the finished product later ;)
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