PULLING WEEDS

ON THE PORCH

PREFACE: 

Benny: “Writing a devo??”

Me:  “How’d ya know?”

Benny:  “By the look on your face and the way you’re pounding the keys…”

Writing ON THE PORCH is my way of battling with issues in my life. It isn’t always easy to share publicly, and many times the devotions I write are a fight between me and my Savior to get words on paper. Some end up purely acts of obedience…God knows I need to hear it in my head, write it on paper, and read and reread to get some of it through my thick skull…

***

Coming back from running errands this morning, I noticed all the weeds in our yard.  Normally when summer hits, Benny and Chewy go out every evening and make a game of clearing the nuisances from our property.  Benny plucks a weed and throws it in the air.  Chewy tries her best to snatch it out of the air like a frisbee-catching world champion. 

With all the rain we’ve been blessed with, this summer has been too wet to play their yearly yard game.   Not only is the ground too soggy to sit and pluck weeds, but the extra moisture has fed the starving weed population and now they are taking over. 

We both stopped to pull a few on our way to the house.  I grabbed the prickly weed in the picture.  If you catch them before they get too big, the thorns are still soft and don’t hurt like the large ones do.

I don’t remember any time in the last 27 years of living here that it has been so simple to pull the weeds, roots, and all without any effort.  When I mentioned this to Benny, he agreed and said, “In a few weeks it might be back to feeling like we are pulling them from concrete.”   

At this very moment, the weeds are fairly small, and the soil is soft and supple, but given time, they will be huge and almost impossible to root out.

While watching Benny pull weeds, I heard a still small voice in my heart.   “It is much easier when they are just getting started, and the ground is soft.  But it won’t always be that way…” 

It’s that way with issues I face, too.  While my heart is soft and my problems are small, they are much easier to deal with.  Each time I allow the manure of worry, anxiety, bitterness, resentment, hurt, anger, selfishness, and the other attitudes the Bible warns against to enter my heart, I fertilize these weedy areas.  Given enough time, they develop thorns, their size triples, the ground hardens, and removing them with their root seems impossible.  When this happens, sometimes I try to disregard the situation because it hurts to touch, and I think eventually winter will be here and kill it out. 

When I ignore these weeds in my heart, they fester, and the roots grow deeper.  The small issues become big issues and hijack my attitude, my thoughts, my peace, and my sleep. 

 ^**The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.  John 10:10

satan (not capitalized on purpose) is a thief, plain and simple, and he comes to kill, steal, and destroy.  Killing the sweet fellowship we have with Jesus and exchanging it for anxiety and distrust is a score for satan and his demons.  He was the angel of worship before falling from heaven, so he likes nothing better than to steal our worship and replace it with worry.  Another tactic of our enemy is to magnify our worries and show them as mountains instead of molehills.  This happens when I refuse God’s help and try to scale the problem and solve the situation on my own.

When I sin, then hide in shame, my soul dries up and gets parched, all the while the weeds flourish and are nourished and continue to thrive.  My peace is destroyed, and my heart hardens. 

**Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  John 14:27

I had a situation happen a couple of months ago that really rattled me.  I felt like I was wronged, I was hurt, and I was justified in feeling the way I did.  I then fertilized those thoughts and emotions with the spiritual manure of pride and self-indignation.  I got bitter and resentful and started drawing battle lines.  In a short amount of time, that issue took over, and let me tell you, the roots took no time to grow deep and dig in.  I had trouble worshiping on Sundays.  My mouth did not reflect my LORD. Negativity became my automatic response.  I couldn’t hear that still small voice because my anger raged louder in my head.  Sleeping at night was almost impossible.  I was irritated and annoyed from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed.  This situation hijacked my physical and emotional health, and I was on a terrible roller-coaster ride.

**Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Philippians 4:8

Until God got my attention and showed me how my spiritual walk was shriveling up and drying up, I couldn’t see all the right in my life because my focus was on being wronged.   I fertilized the weeds of bitterness, hurt, resentment, and anger, all the while, killing the grass.  I was choking out the good to allow the corrupt more room to grow. 

**Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  Psalm 139:23-24

If I keep in fellowship with Jesus and my heart stays soft, I can catch issues while they are still fresh and small and turn them over to Jesus.  With His help and guidance, it may not always be easy, but pulling the weeds, roots and all, is possible.  I can deal with these issues before anything rotten takes root in my heart and mind.

After God put a mirror up to my face, I decided to make tough decisions and be obedient.  I would have to trust Him with the results.    I dealt with the situation, pulled that rotting weed from my heart, and got back to where I needed to be.  After settling this matter, sitting with Jesus in sweet fellowship was even sweeter than it had been in a long time.  I sat, I worshipped, and I heard the music in my soul again.

Life is tough, and sometimes I must do hard things to keep my heart softened and pluck the unwanted plants before they even begin to grow and develop thorns.  It’s no fun to pull weeds, but it is a must if I want to keep good communication and an open heart with my Savior.  Keeping the nasty roots from my life is not always easy, but neither is trying to deal with bad and bitter “weeds” that evolve into trees.  It is an intentional effort on my part, and I must be diligent and attentive.   I must also pay close attention to the condition of my heart.  I cannot let anything take root that steals my peace.

LORD, I hate that I allow ungodly things to steal my attention, mind, and heart.  I hate that I then fertilized them with the attitudes and platitudes of this world, not Your Word.   Thank You for freely offering forgiveness when I gave these issues more allotment and time than I allowed You in my life during that process.  Remind me to turn my problems over to You while they are small and the soil in my heart is soft, then work through them with Your help in obedience.  I want Your peace that passes understanding, not the rags I held onto.  Remind me to water the spiritual soil of my mind and heart with Your Words, LORD.  Give me the desire to memorize and meditate on Scripture.  Help me keep my focus only on You, LORD, and not the big, bad, and ugly weeds.  May I be a light to others, and only fertilize their yards with things that bring You glory!  In Your holy and precious name, amen.

**And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7

~~ The rains have stopped, and the ground is drying up a little today.  Maybe this evening Chewy and I can go have a little fun and make a dent in the weed population while we’re at it.  😊

“You rotten, little freeloader, trying to sneak your way into my garden and suck all the nutrients for yourself.” – Regina Felty, Mazie