Photo Credits~

(owl:donaldthompson95 on flickr, luna:BillLepidoptera/harkphoto.com on flickr, willow/fence:trensamiro on flickr, all remaining: Merana Leigh)

Psalm 25:4-5

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;

guide me in your truth and teach me,


for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (NIV)





Drench yourself in words unspoken, Live your life with arms wide open,

Today is where your book begins, The rest is still unwritten. ("Unwritten" by Natasha Beddingfield)





It matters not how long we live, but how!



Saturday, July 31, 2010

Lessons learned in weeding!

I find it truly amazing how lost one can become in blogland. Not that I find that troublesome, considering the phenomenal posts I've been reading - most especially this one. I have SO much to do today, and instead, I've spent almost 3 hours on here reading, and commenting on posts...but hopefully finding new friends in the process!

Today is the first chance I've had to make a post since I had a "revelationary experience" last weekend. I was out early in the day pulling weeds that had popped up in my brick walkway while we were on vacation ... trying to beat the sun coming over the house with the 107 temperature that would fast be upon us that day.

Anyway, ya know how there are mindless chores you do that help "unburden" your mind & you can ponder just about anything? Weeding (and dishes) are those times for me, my friends. SO...I'm pullin' & gritting my teeth at how much there was to do...and I start to ponder...(come with me on the journey) 'why did God invent these stupid weeds anyway? And why is it that THEY grow [apparently in abundance]while everything else I've paid for is dying if I don't take the time to water it?' So, in aggravation I pull, I sweat, and I ponder...stupid weeds! But then this peace settled in on me, and the weeds really didn't bother me anymore. Know why? Because God was with me and He had something to share with me.

The weeds are symbolic of the evil that is in this world. Yes, the weeds practically thrive in the hostile environment of the extreme weather we've had this summer (I haven't had to mow for over a month) - just as evil thrives in the darkness that the world is. We can pluck out some of the weeds, but we have to pull them up by the roots. And I was reminded of Jesus' Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-29) - "Let both [weeds & wheat] grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' ". We believers (wheat) must live here among the weeds, but our Father will tie up evil to be burned in the Lake of Fire and we will be brought to His barn. We are seeds in this dark world to grow continually (for we never will reach maturity). Only God knows when the harvest will be. But we must leave the weeds to His mighty hand. Now I'm not saying for a minute that we shouldn't do what we can to combat weeds/evil, that is our duty to not turn a blind eye. But, we must always remember that the battle is the Lord's!

(Ok, nobody comments, "well, Merana, what about your previous post on dandelions?" & how we should look at things with the simplicity of children)

And then as I'm further slaving away & drenched in sweat by this point (yes, it was 95 degrees by 10a in the shade!) , the Lord reminded me of what a friend recently told me. He was praying for a difficult time I was experiencing & after a few days, he approached me & said, "Ok, what I'm coming away with is that you have unresolved issues that you need to deal with no matter how ugly they are." I was shocked! I told him, "I don't have anything unresolved! I've dealt with everything I was faced with and gotten past it." Hmph, I thought - who does he think he is?! Then I realized just who he was. He was being a good friend in listening to what God told him to tell me. Tables turned. Hmph, who do I think I am not to listen to what God was trying to tell me?

So...I started praying & earnestly seeking direction. I told the Lord, "Ok, apparently I have unresolved issues that I'm not even aware are issues. Would you please reveal them to me [enlighten me] and then help me to resolve them?" God is faithful! All the time. Yes, He took me on a journey within my heart...and yes, to ugly places I didn't want to see. He showed me addictive tendencies I was starting to develop in order to not face some things. He showed me that I only think that I trust, but where men are concerned, I trust no one. And in that one revelation, He showed me that that's why I haven't trusted Him implicitly...because He's a "he" & can't be trusted because almost every man in my life has let me down or hurt me terribly. Bit of an eye opener, eh?

Next...Ok, so I've learned to trust HIM. "It is what it is" has become a new mantra for me. Not much I can do about anything. Every situation is exactly what it is at that time. I will do the best I can in that situation, but I have to trust Him with the outcome for my good & His glory. I've learned that I can't believe that just some of the promises of the Bible are real, and not others...or that makes the whole Word of God unbelievable, doesn't it? And I've been a witness to some of those promises. Therefore, I have to wait in anticipation of the rest of them. I know everyone knows Jeremiah 29:11 and holds on to it. But, I've found the gem of Romans 8:24b-25 - But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. That's what I cling to! And now I greet each day thanking Him that I'm one day closer to my heart's desire...all the while I see the unfolding of His heart's desire for my life! It's a beautiful ride!

And my friend (and yes, it is JUST friendship 1/2 a country apart) who started me on this path to enlightenment? God is faithful there too. Someone I thought was a true friend in Christ is now making very detrimental decisions that will impact his life quite negatively. I've admonished him as the Lord directed me to do, sharing Scriptures with him to show him that the path he is taking will only lead to heartache & pain. But, he's lonely & refuses to listen. So, I thank the Lord for the brief connection we had in one another's lives. Thank Him for the chance to be given a message through him that has lead me on a path to true healing. And thank Him that He used me to try to reach my friend as he did me. I listened. Sadly, he did not. And that's when the time comes that you know you have to wash your hands of a situation and say "It is what it is", lift it in prayer, and leave it at the foot of the Cross. He knows I'm here if he wants to come back & listen to what God has to say. But, for now it seems he's content to go live among the weeds. He's a good man down deep, making stupid choices so please pray for him.

Ok, with that I see that I have now been on here for far, far, far too long. But time well spent =)!! Now, I have to go clean. Hmmm....wonder what might be revealed to me...

6 comments:

  1. Some very good lessons are learned in weeding and cleaning! Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  2. I like your mantra. For so many years mine was "It's God's problem, not mine!" based on the same revalation that it's not my job to come up with the solution, just to act on the solution he offers. I can't tell you how much stress and anxiety that has saved me from!

    And by the way - thanks for the "plug". I'm seriously honored

    Be Blessed!

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  3. Hi, Good to meet you...thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog! I really enjoyed your post -- thank you for being so transparent! God's love and grace is amazing. My "new" favorite hope that I've been saying lately to myself is the same you referenced re: HOPE from Romans....I here myself saying it to myself a lot anymore!
    God bless...I'll be back to visit again!

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  4. Hi Merana!!

    Thanks for visiting me today! Your comment made my head swell...lol...It is very nice to meet you and I am now following you! Looking forward to getting to know you and to reading more of your posts!

    Hope you have a great rest of your weekend!
    Java

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  5. Hi Merana,

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts on my post (Tell Jesus); I had not considered John 9:3 until you mentioned it. The power of God demonstrated to us that we might believe in Him.

    Too often, I've tried to pull up the weeds in my life and more often than not caused more harm than good. The Lord is helping me realize that nothing surprises Him or catches Him off-guard, so I just need to trust Him with the pruning in my life. I'm trying not to concern myself with the weeds any longer; if there is an area of my life which needs clearing I know He will help me.

    I love that quote in Romans too! When the road gets bumpy for me it serves as a reminder to not give up hope in Christ (regardless of the outcome).

    Thanks for an encouraging post and hope you're having a good weekend.

    MTJ

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  6. Thanks for sharing your blog with me! I enjoyed reading it. It's so funny how similar our posts were about weeding and how we referred to the same verse in Matthew! So cool! I also love Jeremiah 29:11- that verse was quite literally thrown to me by the Lord during a very difficult time for me. Will share later if interested. Anyway, you are so absolutely right about our weeds... life is full of them and we must continue to manage them before they take over our lives, as they already run rampid in this world.

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