WEEDS
Only an Open Heart is free to give and Receive Love / The Worst Prison is a Closed and Hardened Heart:
Some of you have felt as if you could not hear His voice anymore, and it is because you have gotten lost in the weeds (Matthew 13:24-43).
Have you ever thought of your heart as a garden? God showed me this connection several years ago. I was pulling weeds from my garden, I used all of my strength to pull and dig and pull.
As I dug and pulled, God spoke to my heart. He told me that the weeds in the garden were just like the weeds of my heart. They spread out across as well as down deep. As they spread, they infected the healthy, vibrant parts of my heart. These weed roots sucked the life out of the healthy areas of the garden. They crowded the nutrient-rich dirt, preventing the new, robust flora to be planted.
He needed to eliminate the awful weeds so that He could plant new life in my heart. And in order for Him to get every bit of root out, it required a lot of digging plowing on His part.
It will be uncomfortable. It will be painful. It will be full of sorrow.
Unhealthy things I held on to would have to be let go of.
But the result will be glorious! The newly dug up soil will be exposed to life-giving oxygen. It will be easy to work with and fertile for new life. The newness will thrive and be nurtured. There will be an abundance of beautiful colors and fragrance.
The garden of my heart needed tending because it had been neglected for so long. I left wounds and hurts far beneath the surface of the ground ignored, allowing them to be entangled with sinful, cynical roots. The longer it was left untended, the more difficult it was to plow and weed. It took time and a lot of work to get that little garden area cleaned up. There was so much debris and ugly weeds!
The newly dug up dirt was so easy to work with. I could effortlessly push my trowel into the loose soil. The earthy smell was a welcome reward to my soul. It was a reminder of all of the hard work that had been done, the incredible development and care of my heart.
New life was ready to be planted! I was so excited!
Each plant would have more than enough room to grow and blossom.
I tenderly took each special plant and lovingly placed it in the wonderful smelling earth.
There was just something about this accomplishment that brought much healing to my shattered heart.
Neglecting the heart is never a good thing. Our hearts offer the wellspring of life and we must, above all else, protect and guard it (Proverbs 4:23).
When we neglect to care for our hearts, for our spiritual well-being, weeds creep in. Many times, these weeds aren’t easily seen. They move stealthily into our hearts. They slip in underneath, hidden from view. And it’s only when we begin using it, we discover the intruder.
Our Heavenly Father never meant for us to have hardened, weed-infested hearts. But because of sin, weeds are everywhere. They are not always avoidable.
But we can take heart. There is One who is more than willing to roll up His sleeves and begin digging into the depths of our heart gardens.
He will help us remove those dreadful, heart-killing weeds.
He will help us to plant new life and beauty in our softened hearts. Because He makes all things new - 2nd Corinthians 5:16-21, Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, & Luke 8:4-15
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32