It is finally glorious springtime.
It has been a very long and harsh winter here in the North Central part of the USA, but now the winter is past and the land is bursting forth with LIFE in glorious color. Many of you have a garden already planted; and you are looking forward to a luscious crop of yummy homegrown vegetables! It is always fun to plant and imagine the coming crop!
Then reality hits.
You go away on vacation and dream about all the lusciousness awaiting you on your return. But, the plants do not take care of themselves. Unattended, they get overrun with weeds and icky bugs that chew them up and ruin your crop. The day you return from vacation, you experience the reality of the need for maintenance is unavoidable. Your once beautiful garden is now overrun with HUGE weeds
It is not just gardens.
It can happen to people too. Maintenance and “weed” reduction is not automatic. It needs to be deliberate, routine, and consistent. For gardens and for people.
A weed is any plant that grows where you don’t want it to.
Weeds can choke out the nutrients and starve the blooming plants. What will you determine in your mind to choose to do to prevent that from happening in your personal life? How will you keep the weeds away?
How do weeds grow in our lives and in our gardens?
- Neglect.
- Laziness.
- Busy-ness.
- Wrong priorities.
- Distractions. Even GOOD ones.
- Neglecting to put the most important things first.
Even many years after my Mom died, I was still searching for something. I definitely was not a blooming plant. I was a weed surrounded by weeds.Then, I went to a church in Omaha . And I realized the people there had the same thing my Mom had had. I didn’t know what it was but I knew I did not have it, but I also knew I wanted it. It was the something that made me want to be with them. It was a type of “beauty”. Like a garden free of weeds.
I figured it out finally.
My Mom AND the people of the Omaha church had Peace. Joy. Contentment. I wanted that too. They patiently taught me the Source is the Lord Jesus Christ. All those wonderful “blooms” come from fellowship with Him. From reading His Word. From practicing His presence in prayer. Being deliberate.
Vacations.
When you go on vacation with your family or with friends, do you also vacation FROM GOD and HIS WORD? Many do. Your routine is off and you have good intentions, but you never get around to it. And there is that unexplainable empty space in you. SOMETHING is missing! But you don’t take the time to either figure out what it is or to do anything about it. In the past it has only been a fleeting thought. But this year is different! You are thinking about what needs to be different.
It’s summer time.
You let things slide. It is easy to forget what you experienced in the past, and just “have a good time”. To focus on fun…a good thing but you want the BEST thing; and without the focus of choosing to be a blessing FIRST to the LORD, then you will have missed this very best part of summer: seeing God in it all. Every moment, practicing His Presence, even in the midst of fun and fellowship with each other. Choosing rightly! Daily!
So, if you want this year to be different…
It is up to you. Decide what is your specific and deliberate plan to eliminate the weeds that choke the nutrients out of your soul? Do you want to end your summer as a blooming plant rather than a plant starved by the abundance of weeds you neglected to control? It is a deliberate and mature choice. It is not about you. It is about blessing the Lord with fellowship together. It is about loving Him back as much as He loves you.
Choosing!!!
God’s plan is better than your own and His plan is to spend time with YOU! Will you commit to this year being different?
It all starts today.
Don’t wait to make a plan to keep yourself from falling off the cliff into self-indulgence and ending in drought at the end of the summer. Maybe just start with keeping your Bible and Journal close by. Maybe try Bible on tape or CD. You can listen as you weed your garden. Or go on a bike ride. Or prepare food for your guests. WHENEVER. WHEREVER. Start there! And then…add to it as you go…
Leave me a comment about how you are blooming this summer. I can’t wait to hear about your victories!
Death to the weeds! Onward into beauty and joy…
Happy Summer!
Until next time, thank you for all you do!
God bless you bunches!
Awaiting His shout,
The MomCourager™
