We almost always have a relatively nice spell in February when I can get out and weed the flower beds. And they look nice for a while, but then in April when I get to them again, they are overgrown with grass and weeds and clover and bedstraw. It would be nice if I could just weed them once in a while and be done; but that isn't how life goes.
Similarly, in my own heart, I might think I have weeded out a bad thought pattern or some bitterness or have forgiven a hurt; but then something will happen to make me look closely, and there are those rotten, ugly weeds again.
I have marveled at my son's high tolerance for pain. But with my recent broken leg, I think I understand how he comes by it. When we were putting our garden in, in the first weeks of my injury, digging about two holes per day for my tomatoes was about all I could handle if the ground was hard. But I would not notice that I was in pain, only that I was getting short-tempered and cranky with my son. It seems I have a similar way with my feelings. When I am hurting, I might not recognize it; but I will start criticizing others or speaking harsh words.
Sometimes, the weeds that reach the furthest are the easiest to pull. Bedstraw and clover will cover a large amount of ground, but when you trace the vines back to their origin, with one pull a whole lot of weed comes up; and the ground cleans up easily. This is how it has been lately with my closest friend of decades. My whole life will be overcome with a hurt or a misunderstanding or something stupid I have said or done; but one heart-to-heart with her and forgiveness, and loving words of reassurance, and all that weed is gone... I just have to find the stem.
My garden was tilled in horse pasture this year, where hay and grass seed had fallen. I put soaker hoses on the garden, to only water the plants I wanted to grow, and the weeds were easy to control. But then God sent a great downpour and now my whole garden is growing in a carpet of grass. I know we need the rain, but I do find myself a little irritated at how much weeding I have to do now because of it!! The Bible says that God sends rain on the just and the unjust, meaning that God blesses everyone, not just those that follow Him. He wants us to follow him for reasons other than His provision. But I have to say, that sometimes I find myself a little jealous--like Cain, I suppose--that other people get blessed when I feel like I'm working so hard, and they are not. Personally, I think it is easier to care for animals than to work the ground, plant, weed and harvest. I think Cain probably felt the same way. But I have to keep reminding myself of C S Lewis' words, via Aslan, "I tell no one any story but his own." I can't compare MY story with anyone else's, because I am unique and God, to be just, must treat me uniquely. I almost think, when it comes to dealing with God, that I need to wear "blinders" so that I am not tempted to compare my story to someone else's.
On the other hand, we are called to be a part of the body of Christ. We cannot live as an island and also function as part of the body. A friend prayed this morning in church, "Lord, teach us to be a part of the body, because we don't know how to do it." And Gordon read out of the New Living Translation this morning (which is slightly different than my beloved NIV), Ephesians 4:2 "Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. "
"Making allowance for each other's faults". It's so easy to get frustrated and irritated with each other when we don't see eye to eye and we cannot bring the other person around to our (correct, of course) way of thinking. But we are called to "make allowances" for our differences...for their faults, and them for ours. It's hard to make allowance for someone else's faults, especially if that isn't a particular fault of our own. But when we are made aware of our own faults, our "weeds", it is freeing beyond words to have others make allowances for us. It is humbling and it is comforting. In the way that we know that God will never forsake us, it is comforting to know that there are people who will also never forsake us. And we need to be the kind of people who won't forsake others.
In the same way that "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus", he will also carry on that good work in the people we walk with--the other members of the body. Last week, Mark McCoy talked about 1 Corinthians 13, and how God was making us all to look like that. He talked about watching Bob Ross paint and how Mr. Ross would get a painting started and Mark would think, "Wow, that looks pretty good. He could stop there." But then Mr. Ross would paint a river through the middle of it, and when he was done, the painting would so much more awesome than Mark had imagined it could. That is what God is doing with us. He is making a masterpiece. We think we look pretty good, but then God paints a river through us and we think, "Don't!! You're ruining it!" But in the end, God had something even better in mind. And the fact is, He is doing that with all of us. So, if our blinders happen to be down and we happen to see God start to "ruin" what we think someone else is supposed to look like, it's okay, God has something better in mind.
So, if you hear me being negative or critical:
1) tell me to recognize if I am hurting,
2) tell me to go do some weeding,
3) remind me to put blinders on ("I tell no one any story but his own."), and
4) remind me that He who began a good work in me (and every other part of the body) will carry it on to completion.
I'm reminded of a little song that we used to sing in college..."I am a promise. I am a possibility. I am a promise, with a capital P. I am a great big bundle of potentiality. And I am learning to hear God's voice, and I am trying to make the right choice. I am a promise to be anything God wants me to be." Funny, it means so much more NOW than it did two and a half decades ago.
