weeds

here in texas, spring is finally trying to peek around the corner.  the other day while I was outside with the kids, i happened to notice our flower bed in front of the house.  it was looking pretty sorry.  i have only planted flowers once in the six years we’ve lived here.  and unfortunately, i’m not enough of a gardener to have kept those alive longer than about 2 months.  but when we bought this house, we inherited the most amazing easter lilies you’ve ever seen.  they usually bloom 2-3 weeks before easter.  they are bright red with a hint of orange, and yellow streaks in the middle.  and even with my lack of care, they somehow continue to come back every year.  so when we were outside the other day, and i was noticing how bad the flower bed looked, i remembered the easter lilies.  i began to wonder why they weren’t starting to grow again.  and then i saw the weeds.

i immediately got down on my knees and began to pull them up.  once I was at eye level, i thought, “no wonder those flowers aren't growing, they're being completely choked out!"  i then spent the next 3 afternoons pulling, digging, and raking so that my favorite flowers can breathe and hopefully bloom.  i hate the work, but they're worth it. 

i've learned there's different kinds of weeds too.  there's weeds that you can just barely pull and they come straight out.  and then there's the big momma's. those are the kind that you have to grab as close to the ground as possible and then pull slowly in hopes of getting the root.  most of those i had to actually dig a bit to get a good hold on them.  and even then they only come out clean if the dirt is wet from a recent rain.  if the dirts dry and cracked, good luck trying to get any roots.  and my grandmother always warned me that if i didn't get the roots, i was wasting my time cuz they'll come right back. 

anyways, i finally got all the dead leaves and weeds cleared out and am looking forward to seeing those beautiful flowers in a few weeks.  and its funny how God deals with me sometimes.  he wanted me down on the ground getting my hands dirty and wearing out my back pulling those weeds on those particular days because he knew i was about to stumble across a familiar parable in my studies and that it would come to life.  in Luke 8 Jesus tells the parable of the sower.  i think i most often resemble verse 14.  "The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature."  i think the ground underneath the weeds is good soil.  Jesus has given me the faith and the heart to seek Him.  often times, i just don't tend to it.  and then before i know it the seed of His Word is no longer growing and producing fruit because there are so many weeds. 

in order to grow and be fruitful and productive , i must diligently attend to the garden.  and i say diligently because the longer i let the weeds grow, the more difficult they are to remove once they are rooted.  worry can worm its way so deep that it is painful to remove.  and the riches and pleasures of this world can spring up so fast that we get distracted and God's Word is choked out before we know it. "therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." James 1:5 

 

seventh well

haven't really had any profound new thoughts lately, so i thought it was time to post another of my older poems just for the heck of it.  this one is one of my favorites.  it's based on John chapter 4 and the story of the woman at the well.  written february 15, 1997

seventh well

outcast alone in burning thirst i come.
five before are gone and dried,
each look in the mirror tells me why
to the sixth to toil, draw temporal taste of love.
calloused feet by midday sun are numb.
a man sits there with strange deep eyes;
my ugly face and shame i try to hide,
with nothing to draw from the well's deep He's come
asking me to quech His thirst.
i timidly step to ask Him why.
knowing my sin from last to first
yet in my simple truth a smile He finds.
i see in His eyes true love submersed.
He sees past my lies, never again to thirst.



i find it interesting that the number 7 in the Bible represents completeness and perfection.  this woman that was at the well had had 5 husbands before and was now living with a man that was not her husband.  so she had been with at least 6 lovers and then Jesus came along.  she, like many of us, had been digging wells all her life to try to tap into some kind of love that would satisfy her thirst.  but they all came up dry.  and then there was Jesus.  He was her seventh well.  He came offering her a drink that would satisfy her eternally.  He was offering His love.  His salvation.  His Spirit.  His truth.  and He offers the same to us unconditionally.  He is a well of Living Water that will never run dry and will satisfy us perfectly and completely.  so let's throw down our shovels over the drought-stricken land we've been digging in for so long and go tap into the well of His infinitely deep love. 

John 7:38 "Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."  

thank you Jesus for being my Seventh Well.