Tend Your Garden…

If there is one thing that brings me joy in this life it is taking care of my yard. I am responsible for all things outdoors. I planted all of the trees, all of the bushes and all of the flowers. And, as any gardener knows, it’s a lot of work. It is so rewarding to arrange where all of the growing things will reside and the blessing of observing everything in full bloom is unparalleled. However, in order for the garden to continue looking its best, it has to be properly maintained. Grasses grow in where you don’t want them to grow in. Weeds appear, large and small, sometimes choking the life right out of the plants. Certain flower varieties like Hollyhocks are invasive and as such multiply at unwelcome levels. Leaves fall from the trees and some produce droppings that coat your patio furniture and surrounding areas. Fruit trees produce a multitude of fruits that break branches from the weight and deposit over ripe fruit onto the ground. Rose bushes, though beautiful, become so large and unwieldy that they dwarf everything around them. In other words, no matter how beautiful a garden is, without proper care and maintenance, it soon gets out of control. If you care for it consistently the work is quite manageable. However, if you let things go for any considerable amount of time, the
work required to get things back in order becomes daunting. Life is like that. As long as you do all that a single day requires, you can keep things under control. But, if you let things go, you will quickly find yourself overwhelmed. If you want to be happy in this life you have to tend your garden.

Anyone who has ever planted a garden knows that it takes some effort to get things growing and thriving. However, weeds require zero effort, very little water and nothing more than a little neglect to completely take over. We all have things in our lives that are both uninvited and unwanted. We didn’t choose them, they chose us. These are the afflictions and irritations in life. It always bothers me when people say “life” is hard or “life” beats you down at times. Life doesn’t do that to us, evil does. Life, as God intended, is wonderful, vibrant and fulfilling. However, when evil gets involved through the systems of the world, life is impeded and chocked out. If we want to experience the fullness of life, we have to get rid of the things that hold us back. We are all confronted with similar issues. None of us is exempt. It’s not about life being fair or what we deserve or do not deserve. The weeds of life are always equal opportunity. The point is, whatever it is we are being challenged with, we have to take it on. We can’t wish it away. We can’t ignore it. We can’t exempt ourselves from it. It’s damn annoying and irritating, but there it is. Instead we seek the answers we need to overcome. We have to learn what is going on. We have to understand what is behind it. And, most importantly, we have to partner with God to find the solution. God is the master gardener and knows exactly what needs to happen. It is important to remember that God is not behind the challenges. He is not sending challenges and difficulty your way in order to make you better. Love doesn’t require evil to get the job done. Instead He works in us to prevail against the challenges. If we need healing, He will heal us. If we need understanding, He will enlighten our eyes. If we need to discern the evil or figure out where the trouble is coming from, He will reveal what we need to see. Tend your garden.

Sometimes things in your garden start out well, then go wild and out of control. They become too much and overwhelming. They take over everything. Sometimes things in our lives that we enjoy can be that way. It starts out fun and enjoyable then sort of becomes too much. The fun things in life can have an end point. Or what worked when you were twenty no longer works when you’re forty. Love excluded, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. All things in life may be enjoyed in moderation. It’s the excesses that hurt you. Anything you do too much can get ahead of you. Similar to removing the weeds, it sometimes becomes necessary to scale back the enjoyments. Thankfully we have all been given the freedom to decide where that line is. The best informant of the right choice will always be whether what you choose brings you happiness or brings you pain and continues to bring you happiness or bring you pain. We all like to feel good and enjoy things. But our enjoyments shouldn’t have a downside. If we “have” to have something outside of us to be happy, we are in dangerous territory. Every addiction likely started out as something enjoyable. The acid test will be whether you can go without it and the only one you have to prove that to is yourself. Other people don’t make that decision for you. Tend your garden.

Growing things sometimes produce unintended consequences. They can break up fences or crack your concrete. They can coat your outdoor furniture with gnarly droppings or sticky substances. Spent flower petals stain. Things in life require control. You have to trim, cut back and clean up. Few things help you feel better than taking the time to clean up and bring stuff back in order. You cannot expect peace in your mind with chaos in your surroundings. Absent cleaning, like with your body, things begin to stink. You have to clean your house; clean your car; clean anything you are hoping to maintain. Stuff wears out more quickly if left to its own devices. Everyone knows that it’s easier to keep a clean house clean than it is to clean a disaster or a dump. Some houses get so dirty they have to be condemned. Yet, all could be averted by handling your daily business. Don’t let things go. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t ignore stuff. Things requiring your attention need your attention. It takes considerably more effort to walk by the thing you know you need to do, than it takes to actually do it and how much better you feel when you do it. Sometimes less is not more. Take care of your business. Tend your garden.

This thing called life requires effort on our parts. We certainly don’t have to do it all, but we do have to do some things. You will find yourself immeasurably happier when you make the decision to tend your garden. There will be hard days and plenty of things that aren’t fair at all. You will be sorely pricked and annoyingly harassed at times. Stuff won’t work out right away and some stuff may require some time to get straight. But, that is our quest. That is the competition we are in. God never planned the hardships nor will He add to them. Instead He is faithful to show us the way out; the way to peace; the way to Him, the ultimate solution. Your life is worth that much. You are worth that much. If you find yourself in a mess, roll up your sleeves and get to work. It doesn’t matter if you want to do it. What matters is that you keep fighting for the life God promised you and you don’t stop until you find it. Life is good my friends. Tend your garden.

Just some good thoughts…