The Garden Of My Heart

The other day I went out to weed my garden. As I walked past my apple orchard I asked the Lord to please let my life bear much fruit.

When I got out there I realized that there were more weeds than planted items. I was a bit discouraged. I began weeding close to the beans. All of a sudden my husband, Stacey, zipped by on the mower and did his "wolf" whistle at me; the kind of whistle that says, "I like the way you look!" I smiled and waved at him.
He shouted over at me that he'd be glad to help me by using the rototiller on the main paths around the plants. That meant that I'd only have to get the ones close to the plants. I smiled and thanked the Lord for this guy. I had to wonder how God lovingly thought to put two individuals together who grew up so differently. My husband can work circles around me. You see, he is not happy unless he is working.

Stacey grew up on a dairy farm. He got up every morning at 4:30 to milk cows; even on Christmas! Cows have to be milked twice a day, so again he'd be out there in the evening. His dad was a full blooded German, and his mother full blooded Lithuanian, both hard working people. Stacey had band practice, FFA, and 4-H in the afternoons.

I on the other hand, had the cushy life. I had some chores, but nothing like Stacey. I cooked dinner, did the laundry, cleaned the house, and I did some babysitting. I also, was the type who watched "Gilligan's Island," in the afternoon. I am chuckling just thinking about our first year together. Stacey didn't want to sit and watch sit-coms in the evening. He wanted the two of us to bike down to the university and get some coffee. He wanted to float the Willamette River in the summer evenings with a picnic lunch. He wanted to work in the garden and teach me how to grow things. I quickly started doing these things with him and have enjoyed being his wife so much.
Stacey works for a major corporation out of our home. He amazes me! This is typical, when he takes a break, he jumps on the mower, washes the car, prunes or sprays the orchard, or any number of things. He really has two jobs, his career job and the farm. That is why I say he can work circles around me. He gets so much done.
I often joke with him to be careful on his commute up the stairs to the office. He loves oatmeal with any kind of fruit on top. I am glad to bring this to him every morning.

This is Stacey during one of his breaks from the office job.
I also like to bring lunch to him while he's working. I am more than happy to do this for him because he does so much for me. These are the potatoes, chives, bell pepper, onion, and green beans from our garden.
This is how the weeds looked that evening. Stacey tilled them out for me. I'm so thankful. I often think of weeds and sin together. The Lord used many illustrations about this in the Bible. My heart is like a garden and it can become full of weeds. Weeds of pride, selfishness, and jealousy. I prayed while I was pulling those weeds from my garden and asked the Lord, to take away anything offensive in me.
I asked the Lord to please make it quick and swift; just pull them out, so that there would not be so many "weeds," (much sin) that He'd find it necessary to use a rototiller. Worst of all, I prayed that He would point out my sin to me so that it would not be necessary for me to be humbled in the process; I call this the "Round Up method" for removing weeds/ sin. If you have ever used Round Up on weeds you know that for weeks the ugly weed looks like the above picture. That is what sin looks like in my life when God has had to get my attention by humbling me, like the time I had a lot of pride in my life over home-schooling. I bombed in public. Oh the disgrace. God was faithful and loving to me though, and has forgiven me and helped me along. "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." 1peter 5:5 A garden grows well when it is planted in good soil, watered, pruned, and weeded. Yes, there will be fruit!!!
I can believe God that He will help me to bear much fruit in my life. I want the fruit of the Spirit "...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" Galatians 5:22 I cannot possibly muster the will or have the strength on my own to possess this kind of fruit in my life. I need the power of God's Holy Spirit. "I CAN do all things through Christ, which strengthens me." Phillipians 4:13 "...take root below and bear fruit above." Isaiah 37:31 Jesus said: "No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5
These verses give me hope that there will be fruit in my life.