A friend once said she really LIKED to pull weeds. So much so, that her husband couldn’t understand why she didn’t let the gardener do that, & probably thought she was a bit nuts. Now I have to agree with him to some degree ~ I would definitely let the gardener do it ~ if I had a gardener.
But since I don’t have a gardener, and since I just came in from the heat after pulling some weeds, and working in the garden, I can sit here and appreciate the nice clean pond and gazebo area with no weeds coming up thru the loose stones or around the stepping stones. It is really nice to sit (in here with the a/c on) and look out and appreciate how lovely it is with all the orchids blooming, the birds singing, the fish swimming in the cleaned out pond… You get the picture.
But without that weed-pulling, I can assure you, those little weeds, doing their weedly thing, would multiply and spread their little selves all over the pond and the gazebo area and soon, not a stone would be seen; So, now I can be glad I pulled the weeds.
Not that I actually enjoyed it like my friend, but I can enjoy the fruit of my labor. In the same way, I’m glad when I take a daily personal inventory, or at least, a regular inventory of my life and attitude. Not only is it important that I pull out the weeds of negativity or hurt feelings and hold them up to the Light of God’s word; “…put on tender mercies, kindness…longsuffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another…” (Colossians 3: 12-14)
Oh, it goes ON! and brings me up short if I find a little weed of resentment down in the cracks of my denial. I’m more prone to NOT admit “resentment”, but “have hurt feelings” or just be angry or “irritated” ~ duh! And holding up my attitude to Philippians 4:8 sheds some bright light in dark corners & gives me a chance to clean out anything NOT listed there ~ just what have I been thinking on….? LOL.
Another reason to take a look at my garden is to check for pests that eat my beautiful plants or destroy them from within. I just had to throw out a once-beautiful gardenia because I hadn’t noticed and let it be overtaken by some grossness. And then there’s the grape vine that I’ve always wanted that didn’t get enough water ! (Notice how I didn’t even take responsibility for not watering it in that sentence? hmm-mm. Own up, me!).
Some of the things that can easily overtake my spiritual garden are old habits of self-destructive thinking or attitudes that were rooted in the past. I can more quickly recognize a resentment and pull that weed right out with confession & forgiveness but the negative self-talk or erroneous thoughts, or just plain wrong opinions are not so easily recognizable. Stinkin’ thinkin’ is just like that disease that killed my gardenia, killing slowing, little by little, undetected. By the time I realized it ~ it was too late.
And then of course we get to regular watering. Such a simple but profoundly important task. OK, now I’m taking a look at it. Wow. How much time have I spent actually reading His Word for myself? I can picture my poor little dried up grape vine. “…washing by the water of the Word..” Eph. 5:26 ~another “hmm-mm.”
But thank God! Because of Jesus it is never too late for me! I’m so grateful for the Holy Spirit using para-church ministry and Christian Counselors as well as Christian 12 Step Workshops, which allow Him to go in and do a thorough cleaning out, pruning, uprooting and replanting new and beautiful Truths that set us free and give us a lovely personal garden to tend. I love the 12-step groups that encourage us to take a daily inventory and ask ourselves and Holy Spirit, daily a few simple questions that will give a clue if something is amiss – offering helpful tools to tend our garden.
Oh, there’s the operative word: “tend”. Without tending this garden, weeds will surely spring up, diseases will surely attack and we will surely be without a beautiful garden in a relatively short time. So, if I Mind My Own Business – Tend My Own Garden, I’ll be too busy to ‘mind’ your business and my garden will flourish, rather than decline because of neglect from my ‘tending’ yours… hmmm… MYOB {TYOG}?
So very grateful for all the Master Gardeners, laborers, and tools God makes available for us to tend our own garden thru His Holy Spirit, the Water of His Word, Pastors, Teachers, Christian 12 Step groups, and for Christian counselors. That daily Watering is a MUST. \0/