Gardening …
“But if YOU do
not DRIVE OUT the inhabitants of the land from before you, whoever you ALLOW to
remain will become to you barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They
will give you trouble in the land in which you will be living.” (Num 33:55 TLV, emphasis mine)
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 believed 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
and grass. There were weeds around our
new home that I had never dealt with before, and coming from a different area,
I had to enlist the help of the local Extension Agency in identifying what was
what.
Added to this, we had another ‘invader’ of a four-legged kind: DEER! Our home is in a very secluded location, with two different creeks running through the property. On their way to water, 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 the garden area to another location, and enclosed it with a six foot tall fence. We continued to explore different methods of weed control, but it seemed that the hoe in hand was the most reliable method. My husband purchased a gas-driven tiller for our 1/2 acre plus garden patch, and with our livestock, we always had 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 diligently tended to. We each have our own set of weeds (and other invaders) that hinder our growth, as well as cripple our relationship with our Creator. These weeds come in various shapes, sizes, and forms. Some weeds may be thorns and stickers, some may be noxious, and even have pretty flowers, but under the microscope, they are still nothing but weeds. They will eventually choke out the life-producing veggies (Torah) 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 all of them?
First and foremost, we must recognize and acknowledge that there is a problem in our garden, not in our neighbor’s, but in OURS. The Apostle Paul tells us to “test yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Examine yourselves!” (2Cor 13:5). And truthfully, we know well when there is a problem in our relationship with our Elohim; many times, we are too stubborn and proud to admit it. However, when it gets to the place where our ‘garden plot’ is so filled with undesirable growth, we know that it is past time, to make a choice: do we clean up our garden, or do we leave it go to seed? (Josh 24:15).
Yes, we must ask the One who created us for His help and assistance. However, when it comes right down to ‘brass-tacks’, it is OUR responsibility to forcefully “drive out” the invaders from our garden. We must immerse ourselves in Elohim’s Word (Eph 5:26), and feast on the truth that He has provided for us (Ps 119:103). Thankfully, as we continue to apply the ‘hoe’ to these weeds, our Father will step in to help us.
“Now that which fell into the thorns are
those who were hearing; but as they go along the way, they are choked by the
cares and riches and pleasures of life, and they do not bear mature fruit. But the seed in the good soil are those
with a praiseworthy and good heart, who have heard the word and hold it fast
and bear fruit with patient endurance.” (Luke 8:14-15 TLV)
“But solid food is for the mature, who THROUGH PRACTICE have their senses trained to discern both good and evil.” (Heb 5:14 TLV, emphasis mine)
©2022
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