Weeds in my Garden!
For this first time ever, we have 2 beautiful gardens that are growing remarkably well. We have tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, zucchini, squash, peppers, onions, herbs. A little bit of everything.
We also have bugs, birds, squirrels, chickens, rabbits, and weeds!
This is not a new analogy, but I’ve been reminded lately of how our lives are so similar to a garden. We want a beautiful, fruitful life. We see others with a seemingly beautiful life and think that it ‘just happens.’ Well, I can tell you from first hand experience in both gardening and life, that it’s not that easy.
But I’ve noticed something that makes gardening a little easier. When pulling weeds, if the ground is dry and hard, it is virtually impossible to remove weeds. They hold on tight and usually end up breaking when I pull on them. However, if I pull the weeds right after I’ve watered, when the ground is good and saturated, the weeds come out with relative ease. You may see the analogy already. In this ministry, the primary weed we see in the lives of virtually everyone we talk to is the weed of doubt. Doubt that God could really love them, that we have infinite worth in His eyes. Doubt that we have anything of significance to offer the world. And similar to crabgrass that spreads and replants itself in numerous areas of my garden, the weed of doubt affects our jobs, our marriage, our families, and every relationship we have.
The good news is, there is a way to remove the weed! To remove the weed of doubt, one has to saturate themselves in the truth of God’s word, the truth of His love for us, imperfections and all. And I mean saturate! Not just sing ‘Jesus Loves Me’ to yourself a few times. Saturate! Read the Bible, listen to Christian music. Surround yourself with Jesus-loving people. Get help if you need it. Talk to your Pastor. Join a Bible study. Contact a ministry similar to ours. And just to clarify, we don’t do these things to earn God’s love or make him love us more. We do these things to remind us of how much he already loves us, each moment of every day.
In my garden, I have to pro-active to prevent problems and react quickly before problems get out of hand. I spray hot-sauce all over my tomatoes to keep the critters away. I pull weeds. I water. When I wait til there’s a problem, it’s too late. I will lose produce. In my life, I have to be pro-active to prevent problems and react quickly before problems get out of hand. And unlike my garden, where I am typically working alone, we are never alone in life.
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If you don’t already, please consider supporting FreshWater as we work hard to teach people about God’s love for them and about how to daily live in the reminders of his love. Help us as we saturate more hearts with God’s love, helping them pull weeds and showing them the beautiful fruit he has placed within every heart.
