Growing Pains

I just want to grow.

When I was kid my mom had the prettiest flower bed on the street.

Let me give you a little context:

- I lived in her house

- I ate her food

- I wore the clothes she bought for me

-She drove me everywhere

Yes this is what moms are supposed to do, but by no means did she have to do everything for me that she did. My mom always went above and beyond. I am truly blessed. She asked me one thing in return as I sat at home day in and day out over my summer breaks: Take care of the garden. Which meant two things:

1. Pull the weeds
2. Water the flowers

EVERYDAY

This was a lot to ask. I had tons of cereal to eat and a lot of television to watch. Taking care of the garden in the 90 degree weather wasn't on top of my priority list. But I felt that I owed my mom something. So I made the smallest effort possible. Every other day I would water the flowers for approximately 5 seconds.

Mom would come in the afternoons asking if I watered them. I would always reply "yes". She would then mumble something about them looking wilty and go water them again. Every few days she would ask if I had pulled the weeds. My reply was "yes". Then she would have me come outside and look at all the dandelions and purpley flowers that were taking away the sun and water from the flowers she had so tenderly planted. "If you pulled them, why are they still growing?" My reply went something like this: "I don't know" pathetic shrug. My mom being the wise woman she is asked me to show her how I pulled the weeds. I reached low and snapped off the stem. " Well there's your problem," she said. "Silly girl you aren't pulling them up by the root."

Friends today I feel like the flower in that untended bed. I feel lost in a seed of weeds which are the enemy's lies. They block the light and still my water. These weeds sound something like this:

" You can't open a business. It will fail."

" He doesn't like you. He would be better off with her. She's a better catch."

" God doesn't have good things for you. If you want something you have to take it."

These are all lies. If I listen to them too long my faith begins to wilt. I feel weak and begin to believe them. God is a loving caretaker. He sent someone much better than lazy me to tend and keep his garden. He sent Jesus. Through Jesus everyday I'm able to get a fresh dose of water. His mercies are new every morning.

Don't be lazy. Learn from Jesus how to be diligent in keeping your garden. One of the main reasons I let the weeds grow was because I didn't see their harm. Yellow dandelions look an awful lot like flowers. Now I realize you have to pull them up completley. There is no room in the garden for even one little root of a lie. If you let it stay it will breed many more. Eventually if left unchecked it will kill everything you worked so hard to grow.

As these lies are being uprooted from my heart I can feel that their roots have become intertwined with mine. This makes pulling them out hurt A LOT. However I'm thankful to have Jesus to tend to me. What would this garden be without Him? He's teaching me to discern between the lies and the truth. Now I'm able to catch lies more quickly which makes uprooting them much easier. This whole scenario reminds me of Matthew 13:24 -30 .
Tend to your gardens friends as Jesus does.

EVERYDAY we must

1. Pull out the lies through prayer
2. Water our hearts through the word

This will culitvate an unending desire to grow.

What are some of the weeds in your life?