Your Daily Slice

Iyar 18

Gardening …

“Hear, O Yisra’ĕl: You are drawing near today to battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not fear, or tremble, or be afraid before them, for יהוה your Elohim is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”  (Deu 20:3-4 ISR)

In March of 2011, my husband and I moved from one side of the state of Wyoming to the other, a distance of over 350 miles, to a new home that we believe Elohim had hand-picked for us.  Behind the house was a garden plot; I eagerly anticipated a bountiful harvest of fresh garden veggies.  However, this garden area had not been worked in a handful of years, and had been vigorously invaded by weeds.  There are weeds here that I have never dealt with before (horrors!), and coming from a different area, I had to enlist the help of the local Extension Agency in identifying what is what. 

Added to this, an additional “invader” was a four-legged one: DEER!  Our home is in a very secluded location, with a creek running through the bottom of the property.  On their way to water, several times a day, the deer believed they should stop by and help themselves to whatever was growing in my garden.  It was just unfortunate I was not able to train them to eat the weeds! 

My garden did not reap much of a harvest that first year.  We have since moved it to another location, and ABBA Father has instructed us, step-by-step, what needs to be done to win the victory in this garden.  There is special fencing available to keep wildlife out of a garden, and we were able to erect a fence over 6 feet tall.  We are still exploring different methods of weed control, but when it comes right down to it, we can’t seem to get away from a hoe in hand.  My husband purchased a gas-driven tiller for our 1/2 acre plus garden patch, and we have always have lots of compost to add in our attempts to improve the soil …

So, how does all of this relate?  All of us are, basically, individual “garden plots” that need to be tended to, and we have our own set of weeds (and other “invaders”) that try to hinder our growth, and our relationship with our Creator.  They come in various shapes, sizes, and forms.  Some weeds may be stickers (I call them cockle-burrs), some may be noxious, or even have pretty flowers, but when it comes right down to it, they are still nothing but weeds.  They will eventually choke out the life-producing veggies that we need to survive on.  Added to that, there are other “invaders” that will simply try to devour us.  How do we deal with them?

First and foremost, we must recognize and acknowledge that there is a problem in our garden, not our neighbor’s, but ours.  The Apostle Paul tells us to “examine ourselves whether we are in the belief – prove ourselves.” (2Cor 13:5)  And truthfully, we know well when there is a problem in our relationship with our Creator; many times, we are too stubborn and proud to admit it.  However, when it gets to the place where our “garden plot” is so overgrown that it is obvious, we know that it is time, or even past time.

The next step is ask the One who Created us for His help.  From our opening verse in Deuteronomy, we learn that our Creator goes with us, fighting for us to save us.  Elohim is fighting against our enemies, which includes all of the weeds and “invaders” that are coming out of nowhere!  We learn also that it is a daily battle, that daily we must rely upon our Elohim, His wisdom, His strength, His knowledge, for truly, without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5) …

“יהוה is my rock and my stronghold and my deliverer; My Ěl is my rock, I take refuge in Him; My shield and the horn of my deliverance, my high tower.  I call upon יהוה, the One to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies … יהוה lives! And blessed is my Rock! And exalted is the Elohim of my deliverance.” (Ps 18:2-3, 46 ISR)

©2018