Yard Work

I know that I don’t like yard work, but I really do like the idea of having a yard. I’m not quite sure that I am ready for a Condo yet. Anyway, there are certain responsibilities that you have to deal with if you have a yard. One of those responsibilities is taking care of the yard. Things like blowing leaves out of the back yard and trimming the Crepe Myrtle tree that you would really like to just cut down. Yes, today, this afternoon I did yard work. Why not top off the day that started with a morning of getting tax information together.

It’s no wonder that I am not really feeling that great tonight. Five hours this morning doing taxes and then an hour and a half doing yard work. The only thing that I did today that I really wanted to be doing was to go for a run. That’s all I had time for. I wanted to ride the Harley, but it just didn’t happen. Maybe tomorrow. I guess this territory comes with being an adult. Some days, even when you are off work, you have to do things that you really don’t want to do.

It was Julia’s idea to put that Crepe Myrtle tree in the front yard. She always liked them. I guess I should be glad I only have one. Anyway, I have thought about digging it up, but I am afraid it has been in the ground too long, and gotten too big. It would probably be too hard to dig up. So, once again I did my duty and whacked it down to where it can grow again. I guess we get like that sometimes. Jesus said that He would trim the branches so we could grow and sometimes we do get trimmed. What does that look like, to be trimmed by God. I guess an unbeliever might think we were being punished because we loose some of our most beautiful branches. But if we are like the tree I just trimmed, we need to be trimmed back to shape and cause increase in the future growth.

We all have tendencies to “grow wild”. You know, to grow stronger and faster in certain areas. What we see as our strengths, Papa might see as excesses that need to be trimmed to shape us into His image. I want to grow into His likeness, not my own, so I do welcome any trimming. The key thing is to realize what is going on and learn everything that you can while it is happening. I read something by Bill Johnson talking about the storms of life. You have to discern who caused to storm. Is it caused by the Father to steer you back to Him when you are going astray, or is it caused by the enemy to stop you from reaching your destiny. You react totally different in each circumstance. So, we need His wisdom and His heart. If we have those, we will know the storms, and His storm won’t last long or be harsh because we will be running back to His arms quickly.

We have to allow Holy Spirit to blow the leaves of the past out of our garden. Isn’t it funny how last years growth, if not dealt with will stifle the life within us. Dead leaves are just the remains of last year’s achievements. They are part of the beauty that was. But left on the ground they will stop the beauty that will be. So we have to allow the wind of the spirit access to our lives to blow away our old victories and make us ready for the new battles. We can only have victories when we fight battles, and we need to be free of any old debris that will block our path.

So, I guess as I was tending to my garden today, Papa was tending to mine. I have given Him and Holy Spirit to trim and blow through my life. Make me ready for the next season. It is here, now.