Weeding the Garden of your Heart

While pulling out the weeds in the front garden this morning, I began to think about the weeds that may be growing in the garden of my heart. These weeds are things that endeavour to take over me; things like selfishness, greed, anger, fear, doubt and insecurity. These weeds grow in all shapes and sizes, they may not all grow at the same time and some are more persistent than others, but nonetheless, they are weeds that try to prevent me from being all that I can be.

We all have some sort of weeds – that’s just life – and no one likes them. Some are ugly, some are painful but all try to take over our lives. Therefore, it is important to deal with them; we need to do a little weeding in our own lives. Amazingly, everyday weeding teaches a little about how to do this.

The first step to weeding is to acknowledge the presence of weeds (it’s not rocket science ... or is it?). Acknowledging the presence of weeds can actually be quite painful. Many of us try to deny them. But I discovered that if you choose to ignore weeds, they can very quickly take over the garden, whether physically or hypothetically. It can change the whole garden’s identity into something unintended. For example, our front garden is a rock garden with lots of cacti; so when weeds start growing, the little cacti are hidden and the larger ones lose their beauty. It no longer looks like a cacti garden but a natural mess. If we try to ignore the weeds in our own lives, they may very quickly take over, changing our identity and never allowing us to show our true beauty and potential. Identifying the need for weeding is the first and very important step.

The second step is where we need to get down and dirty. This is the actual weeding process. There are two gardening ways to do this. The first is to get the lawnmower (or wipper-snipper) to cut them down. This is quick, painless and gets the garden looking a lot prettier. But (there’s always a but), beyond the point that lawnmowers cannot get the little weeds amongst the plants, they only cut the tops off. Lawnmowers are like a bandaid solution. Very soon, the weeds will just grow straight back because really, they’re still there. The roots are there, it’s just the visible part that’s missing ... for now.

The second, more effective way is to get down on all fours and pull the weeds out one by one, roots and all. This is long, it hurts (especially in a cacti garden), it’s dirty and it’s in no ways glamorous, but it gets rid of those weeds. All it takes is perseverance and a humble heart. When you go right to the base of the weed, right to the source - the roots, it stops the hold the weed has had on your garden and stops it from coming back any time soon.

But another thing to note, which I’ve discovered while weeding, is that some weeds come out really quickly. One pull and they’re out. But others take a lot more effort. Sometimes you have to dig around the root, or pull it out bit by bit. Some weeds just have too big a hold for us to conquer straight away. But take heart. Persevere. Pull it out bit by bit until it comes. As painful as it may be, that weed is probably the one doing the most damage.

Finally, once all the weeding is done, we need to keep tending the garden. I have found that even when you pull the weeds out from the roots, weeds keep on coming back. The seeds get blown in from other gardens, other situations. When a weed starts growing, pull it out straight away. Never neglect your garden but keep tending it. Weeding is an on-going process.

I won’t lie, weeding is tough, but the more we get into practice, the easier it will become and the less weeds we will have to pull. And don’t feel you have to do it on your own. God wants to help you pull those weeds out. He created the garden in your heart, he created you, and he wants to help you be all that you can be. And let other people help you while doing the same for them. This is all a journey.

So next time you go outside and see a weed, let it be a little reminder of your own garden.

How’s it looking?

Questions

What would the world look like if we knew all the answers? What if no one ever had any questions: questions about relationships, about the world, about life?

We would not be overcome by stress and confusion. We might actually sleep instead of lying awake at ridiculous hours, wondering about the past or the future. When it came to making decisions, we would not have to hesitate. No more, ‘should I’ or ‘what if’ but rather ‘I know what to do’.

Sounds great! But is it really?

If we had all the answers, would we really be happy? What if there are things we would miss out on?

Could we really know the feeling of achievement? Without moments of doubt, confusion and question, how can we know the relief and excitement when things finally click? Look at the joy a child has when they finally discover an answer to a homework problem. It’s only homework but they look as though they have unlocked the mysteries of life. Our problems are most likely bigger; therefore the joy should be greater. But if there’s no searching period what’s the use of a celebration party?

Would it be possible to grow or would we always remain exactly the same? There would be nothing to learn; therefore there would be no reason or cause to change. Can that really be all that good?

What about relationships? Would half of them even form? Think, if we knew all the answers, we would never have to call someone for help and they would never call us for help. There would be no ‘guess what I’ve learnt’ or ‘I need advice’. There would be no crying together, no celebrating together, no laughing at each other’s mistakes. Would there even be a need for friends?

Questions are frustrating. They confuse us, stress us and can tire us out. But without questions, there is no sense of achievement, no reason to grow and little reason for relationships. Moments of mist strengthen us. They are not meant to bring us down, but build us up.

I definitely do not have all the answers. In fact, I have more big questions than answers. I am also still learning how to deal with all of them but hopefully this will encourage you to know that questions aren’t all that bad.

Keep searching, keep hanging on and one day, some day, you will look back and praise God you asked that question in the first place! You have no idea what you may discover!

What climate will you create?

'It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather… I possess tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspirations. I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and the child humanised or dehumanised.’

~ Haim Ginott

It's Spring!

Isn't it funny how birds seem to know the exact day spring starts?

Yesterday, the day felt no different. The morning was quite cold in spite of the sweltering last week of winter, the sun still greeted us at about the same time as it had been, and the only difference is that the date on our clock now read 1 Sep. And yet, when I woke up, I heard a bird singing outside my window, the sound I had been missing the past few months.

Today, the second day of spring, was no different. The sun and clouds were painting magnificent pictures in the sky as a kookaburra laughed at the lorikeets flying from tree to tree. The crows joined in on the chorus which made the kookaburras only laugh even more.

Spring has arrived!

But how did the birds know? They have no calender.

Could it be that as they slept in the trees, God whispered into their ears, 'It's spring! It's spring! Wake up and sing for today it's spring!'

Wouldn't it be great if we woke up and thought, 'It's spring! It's spring! Wake up and sing for today it's spring!' It's a new season. Today's a new day.

Why don't we just this once, drop everything and just sing with the birds and praise God for all that he is. Praise him for the magnificent sunrises, praise him for the emerald trees, praise him for the refreshing water. Praise him for new days and new seasons!

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!! (Ps 150:6)

Without a winter, there can be no spring;

Without a night, there can be no morning;

Without clouds, there is no amazing sunset;

Without rain, there is no rainbow.

Withough tears, there is no joy;

Without pain, there is no music;

Without fear, there is no peace;

Without hard times, there is no growth.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose. ~ Romans 8:28

Judging Others

[Matthew 7:3] “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your eye?”

Why is it that we are always so quick to judge other people before assessing ourselves? Is it pride, and the need to point out other people’s faults to makes ours less obvious? Is it shame, and the idea that other people have done things just as bad? Or could it be our insecurity or even jealously that gives us the desire to push other people down to make ourselves seem important? Whatever the reason, none of these can be considered as even half a reasonable answer.

From my own personal experience, I find that I am often guilty of judging others. But the thing is, God didn’t intend for me, or anyone, to be someone who walks around criticising others. He made us to love one another, to encourage one another. As Ephesians 4:2 says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Bear with one another. This is Grace, where we let people make mistakes without hitting them with a wall of accusations when in truth, we are guilty of the same thing.

Sure, there’s nothing wrong with offering guidance, especially when we’ve been in the same situation. But there’s a difference between being a mentor and a judge. One loves unconditionally despite one’s faults, the other accuses and condemns.

Don’t be a judge. Let God do the judging. If you were a doctor, you wouldn’t rock up to a construction site and start doing someone else’s work. And if you were an architect, you wouldn’t walk into a school and start teaching prep. In the same way, God didn’t create us to be judges, so don’t be a judge. Do what he made you to do. God reckons you’d make a much better person doing what he planned for you, than judging others.
Get yourself in check first and then leave the rest up to God. It’s that simple.

Isaiah 41:9-10