Weeding in the Downpour

Saturday was another work day at Garfield community farm and I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to go since it was drizzling out in the morning; sleeping in sounded like a much better plan. But I decided to head over anyways, figuring a lot of people would also prefer to stay in their warm bed and the farm could use all the help they could get. I was correct in thinking that not as many people would show up, but there are always the faithful few who come rain or 100 degrees of sunshine.
We split up among various jobs and again I decided to tackle some weeds. As the one leader of the farm said "we are always in the battle against weeds". Even though we could weed everyday at the farm there will always be some small weed we will miss or that will grow back. My last post on weeding I compared the weeds in the garden to the weeds in our lives and hearts that are unhealthy and overshadow the blessings God wants to give us.

The bushes we wanted to keep and had to maneuver around to get to the weeds.

Today was another reminder that we need to continually work on removing the sin in our lives. Some areas are easier than others, like the small sprouting weeds that haven't spread their roots yet. We can see  the consqeuences of an unhealthy decision and wisely decide not to make the same mistake again.But then there are some areas of our lives that are like the envasive vines that tangle and wrap around the fence, threatening to bring it down. Pulling at the roots were not going to bring these suckers down; we had to bring in hedge clippers, pruning shears and knifes to remove the snarled vines of weeds. When we let the sin in our lives get so out of control it begins to take over everything and it is a lot more painful to get rid of.

Fence covered in weedy vines. It looks so blurry because of the rain that was coming down.

This made me think of the verse"... let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with persevance the race marked out for us" Hebrews 12:1. The garden can't show it's true potential when there are weeds and vines taking over. In the same way we can't fully live out the life Christ designed for us when we are so wrapped up in our sin.

We started our weeding project when there was just a small drizzle but soon the rain began to downpour.  I'm talking sheets of water coming at you sideways from the harsh wind leaving you head to toe soaked. All I wanted to do was give up on the garden, hop in my car and drive home.  Just as we are in the process of trying to clean up out lives, repent of our sins and be more like Jesus, Satan comes in with a hurricane downpour that makes us want to give up. This is why it is so important to stay in a community and have someone to whom you can be accountable, because if I had been weeding out in the garden alone I would have quit. Having other people alongside me helped me keep going, and eventually the rain calmed down!

Piles of weeds that we pulled and cut out.

The weeds will continue to grow and I'm sure when I go to the farm on Thursday there will be plenty of weeds to pull. But knowing that I can make it during a rainstorm will make the task seem just a little bit easier when it is sunny.

The blank area to the right is where we cleared out the weeds.

Hope you enjoyed this post and that it made you think a little!

P.S. Sorry for the lack of great of pictures but I didn't want to have my phone out in the rain for too long. 

Pulling Up Weeds

 My initial intent when creating this blog was to write informative posts about flowers, gardens and trails that I have discovered. But recently I have learned that my Garden Discoveries have not been just about the actual gardens I see but the discoveries that I learned about myself while experiencing God's creation.  This is another post along those lines about what God taught me during the simple act of weeding.

Saturday was another weekend workday at Garfield Community Farms, and it was amazing how many volunteers showed up from different churches and organizations to help. While part of the group went to work on a house renovation project, the rest of us stayed to work in the gardens. The theme of the day? Weeding!! Now normally weeding is not my favorite part of gardening because you have to be careful not to pull up any plants that are suppose to be there. But today the wildflower section I was working in was almost all weeds so it wasn't too hard; if it didn't have a flower on it pull it out.

The section I was working in

All the tall grasses had to go!

While I was working on pulling the weeds out of the ground, I was thinking about the weeds each of us have; the unhealthy habits, thoughts, relationships and other sins that have taken root in our lives. When they are small and just beginning to sprout they look non-threatening. You think that it is okay to leave the small weeds in the ground because the tall beautiful flowers will cover them up and no one will notice if you leave one or two weeds behind. But soon the small weeds will overtake the garden of your heart, and like the tall grasses above, will choke out any beautiful flowers that try to grow.

So what is the best way to get rid of weeds? Just like in gardening you need to pull the weeds out at the root. If you just snap off the weed at the stalk it may look like the weed is gone but it will just grow back. In our lives this means we need to not only confess our sins but actively change how we live; turn our backs on the old ways and start living for Christ in every area of our lives. When I would come across a particularly large and difficult weed I would have to ask for help from one of the other volunteers to help me dig it out. In the same way we can't be afraid to ask for help from our friends, family and spiritual leaders to help us with the deep rooted weeds in our lives.

Now will this mean that weeds will never grow again? Of course not. Weeds are a natural part of every garden and in everyone's life. We just need to continually work on pulling out our weeds so that they won't completely take over and hide all the flowers.

Almost all cleared!

Now there is more room to plant beautiful flowers!!

I hope this will be an encouragement for you to look at what areas of your life need to be weeded. It takes hard work and can be difficult to get started, but once you pull out some weeds you will be amazed by what beautiful flowers the LORD will place in you life now that there is room for them to grow.