One of the greatest blessings for us was moving into a new home.  After what seemed like an endless process, we were finally able to move…and after a longer process, I can finally say that we feel relatively settled.  The process for making a house a home is lengthy, and while I still wonder what color I want certain walls, I’m willing to enjoy the peace that comes with a blank slate.

Preacherman handles most of our landscaping needs with the exception of weeding the mulched areas.  The weeding is my responsibility.  It seemed like a small, yet appropriate and meaningful task to for me to handle.  While I long to have the patience of my grandmother or some of my aunts when it comes to working in the yard, I’m not there yet.  So I’ll start with something small, and believe that over time, my patience will grow.

Earlier this week, I tackled the weeding as Preacherman was handling the rest of the yard.  And there were some lessons that I learned in the process:

• It doesn’t take long for weeds to take root.
  • We’ve lived in our house now for just under 4 months.  I was amazed at how quickly weeds had taken root in two of the mulched areas.  Ironically enough, both of those mulched areas are relatively close to our sprinklers.  Here’s the thing- we must be mindful of what is taking root (and subsequently being watered) in us.  It doesn’t take long for weeds of sin to take root; eventually taking the very nutrients that we need for our survival.
• Something that’s small on the surface can be deeply planted.
  • I made an assumption that some of the weeds wouldn’t be “that bad” because they were small.  I was mistaken- and it was the smaller weeds that gave me the most grief when trying to uproot them.  What we must remember- it can take a while for what’s planted to surface. Just because it seems small, doesn’t mean the root isn’t deep. The “little things” that we may tend to overlook can actually hold strong roots in good. We must be diligent in planting and watering the right things and weeding out the wrong things. 
• Just because it doesn’t look like a weed doesn’t mean that it’s not a weed. 
  • One of the challenges I had in one of the areas was determining if something was actually a weed or part of the landscaping because they looked similar. After close examination and checking our neighbor’s landscaping, I realized it was a weed.  Here’s the thing- we must be careful to know what’s a weed and what’s actually supposed to be planted in us.  Looks can be deceiving.  In a world that is constantly telling us what we need to have, who we should be, and what we should look like, if we aren’t sure what should be rooted in us (and what shouldn’t be rooted in us) and what that looks like- we’ll be horribly confused. 
• You must be committed to the weeding process.
  • As much as I’d love to think that I’m done with the weeding, I know that’s not the case.  It’s an ongoing process that I must be committed to if I want our yard to not just look healthy, but to BE healthy.  Likewise- we must be committed to the difficult process of weeding in our own lives.  What weeds and other things need to be uprooted in our life to ensure that we are living the life that God has called us to live?

While I can’t say that I enjoyed the weeding, I’m grateful for the heart check that God gave me during the process.  If I desire to bear much fruit in 2016, I’ll have to undergo and endure the weeding process.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” -John 15:1-2 NIV

Until next time…

Peace and Blessings…