The grass is always greener...

One day last week, I came home to find a wonderful blessing had come my way.

A couple of Mondays ago, I decided it was time to take advantage of the improvement in the weather and try to tackle the jungle of weeds we commonly refer to as our yard. I went out and did the trimming first.  When I tried to use the riding lawnmower, it wouldn’t even start. I waited over a week for the repairman to come and pick it up and haul it to his shop. He said I was number 37 on his list! My yard was already long overdue for mowing. After another week it looked like the yard of an abandoned place.

Last year it didn’t look nearly as bad. It seems somehow through the fall and winter the yard became inundated with chickweed. I don’t mean patches here and there like you see dandelions. I am talking a field of chickweed. You see, whereas for the last decade or so I had become accustomed to small ‘city’ yards, I am now responsible for a spacious half acre.

This yard has the potential to be one of the nicest in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the owners lived here before and didn’t spend much time caring for it. He removed all but three shrubs from the front beds, leaving them to fill up with weeds that spread to the yard. Weeds don’t look good anytime, but my neighbors take great pride in their yards and have them professionally treated. It pays off too. Though their yards are less than half the size, their lawns are beautiful; lush and thick, and rich dark green. 

                                                                                        

I started thinking about how this relates to our lives. We all have potential. When we get married, there is the potential to have a great marriage. But like the yard it requires attention and work. If we don’t cast the right grass seed and feed the lawn, we won’t have the right grass growing. It won’t stay healthy. If we get busy with other things and ignore it, soon there will be a few random ‘weeds’ creep in. They are hardly even noticeable at first. When the right things aren’t growing, the weeds will fill in. And if we aren’t diligent in handling those problems, before you know it the bad starts overwhelming the good.

We have to tend to our relationships. We need to sow the right seeds; respect, encouragement, positive words, mercy, patience, kindness, gratefulness, graciousness, and peace. And we need to be diligent in pulling up the weeds. Weed out anger, bitterness, jealousy, criticism, sarcasm, complaining, whining, pride, offense, arrogance, disrespect, lust, judgmental attitudes, arguing, and improper speech. Feed your relationships with prayer, unconditional love, forgiveness, appreciation, self-control, and a pleasant, joyful attitude.

Right about now you may be saying, “That’s too hard, I can’t do that!” You’re right; you can’t.  But God!

 "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." Romans 8:11

We have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead living within us!

We are called to be Christ-like. It’s our job to guard our minds and words, our attitudes. The Bible says to cast down wrong or bad thoughts every day.  Out of your thoughts, come the issues of your life. Take control of your thoughts. You can’t live by your own thoughts. We must strive to have the mind of Christ; to keep and maintain a loving, forgiving, merciful heart, and to do good to others.

Then we won’t have crabgrass or chickweed in our lawn of life. It will be beautiful, healthy and lush.

 

 

And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.      Ephesians 4:32

Speaking of being helpful and kind…

I came home last Tuesday, to find my yard had been mowed by one of my neighbors. What a wonderful blessing I received from an elderly neighbor who not only mowed the jungle, but brought another neighbor to repair the lawnmower for me. Jesus’ attitude of being loving, kind, and doing good was demonstrated through these two men.

I’m thinking I should  bake and deliver a couple of pies...but first I need to buy some Weed and Feed .