Tending The Garden

March 1st!



Can you believe it? Where did February go??



In my life, February passed by under an abnormally large amount of major events. To look at my calendar is to notice my pen bled during February. So, it flew!



Many of you had major events happen in February...babies born, pregnancies discovered, marriages strengthened, marriages weakened, jobs earned, jobs lost, kids honored, kids disciplined, health issues, parent issues, and the list goes on and on.



And yet, we persevere. No matter how our life changes, our God is unchangeable. What we knew about Him yesterday is what He is today and will be tomorrow. In a world that is changing at a rapid pace, I find the knowledge that I base my life on a God who is NOT changing, very comforting. For the God I read about every day, is the God you are reading about,...He is the same God I worship daily, who sustains me, who calls me to live my life faithful each day, and who is faithful to complete my being day in and day out. We do not stand on sifting sands...but on a rock of Him. Ladies! Rejoice! For everything around us can be shifting and send us into shock, but if He is the rock beneath our feet, nothing can rattle us.



So, here we are embarking on a whole new month! Time to do an inventory! How are you doing on your New Year's Resolutions? Do they need revising? Maybe touch them up?



Refresh in your mind what your long-term goals are this year, and then get specific and write 3 steps on how you are going to achieve each one. I think our own personal growth can get lost in the shuffle of our families and our duties as wife, mom, homemaker, friend, etc. But I want you to look back on 2010 as a year of growth. A year that changed your life forever...not based on circumstances, but based on what God has taught you along the way and what you were able to conquer through His strength.



If you didn't write any resolutions, it's never, ever too late! Take 5 minutes today and explore what you would love to accomplish in the next 10 months! If you want more accountability, email me your resolutions, and every month I will forward back the same email to check-in with what you said 30 days prior. Totally confidential. If you don't want me to read it, just put DO NOT READ in the subject of the email, and I will let it sit in a folder until April 1st. No problem!



So, here we go!



Proverbs 1:



Solomon begins writing Proverbs with general advice to young people. The first few chapters are his attempts at selling people on why proverbs are so important; why proverbs must sink through our hearts and minds to transform us from the inside out. He introduces the purpose in the following verses:



2 Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
to help them understand the insights of the wise.
3 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
4 These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
knowledge and discernment to the young.



As someone who loves an outline, Solomon is giving it to us. Not only does he begin with the purpose of Proverbs (v. 1-7), but he continues with the importance of gaining wisdom (v. 8-19), and introduces the personification of wisdom (v. 20-33). It's a perfect succession...it flows, it makes sense, and it hits us smack in the middle of our hearts. We know what we will hear if we read Proverbs. The overview of Proverbs readies our heart for the specifics.



But as we've been looking closely at Proverbs, I loved these next two verses, because, girls, this is what we have been doing during the past two months!


Proverbs 1:5-6 Let those who are wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.
And let those who understand receive guidance
6 by exploring the depth of meaning in these proverbs, parables,
the wise sayings, and riddles.



It is one thing to simply read Proverbs, say "that's nice," and put the Bible away and continue on your simple way. It is another to look at them inside and out, digging deep at what they look like and what they don't look like, allowing your head to wrap around the tiny nugget that is amazing in the life that it gives, and truly adding it to your heart. It's the difference between eating empty calories, those that don't mean anything to your body, except adding fat...and eating filling calories, those that will fill you up, keep your organs functioning, your heart pumping, and oxygen to your brain. Vital versus excessive. Necessary versus fluff. "I want" versus "I need."



What keeps us from exploring Proverbs deeper? What stops us from getting down and dirty with the Word of God? What keeps us from pulling those weeds, laying down the fertilizer, and planting new seeds on fresh soil?


The work: Ladies, it is work. Reading about changing your life is so much easier than actually changing your life. Filtering your thoughts is so much easier to think about and wish for than actually pausing and filtering. I'm one that weighs everything against the energy output for the result that's going to come from my efforts. Blame it on my desire to be super efficient, or to take multi-tasking to the next level...neurotic insanity! But the work it takes to dedicate every thought, word, deed, motive, intention is exhausting.


You can even own every book about how to make a beautiful garden, but never do the work...well, you will NOT have a beautiful garden!


And likewise, we must see work as a vital piece of our growth as a Christ-follower. And who's afraid of work? We all get down and dirty with our kids, our homes, our friends and their hearts, so why not our own hearts and our own spiritual walks with the Lord? For nothing worthwhile is gained without work.


The dirt: It's messy. Thinking about going into my backyard and getting in the dirt is so unappealing. I hate getting dirt caked in my fingernails (and freak out slightly when I think about what's in the soil). I hate choosing clothes and shoes that I don't mind getting dirty, almost like choosing which clothes and shoes I'm marching to the guillotine. And I would much rather have the beautiful garden without getting in the dirt. But we all know that's impossible unless I hire gardeners to do the job for me. And that's just NOT in the budget.



Beauty without getting dirty is not possible. Tending to the weed and the vitality of our hearts is a dirty job. Sin is mucky and dirty. It's not pretty, our nails will get dirty, but in the end, the clean slate is beautiful. The refining, the weeding out, the pruning, the watering, the getting dirty is what God calls us to do in the process of sanctification. This is the "by exploring the depth of meaning" (v. 6a) that God calls us to do. To get down and dirty, with His Word and our hearts.



The time: I am famous for overestimating my ability to finish a task in a certain amount of time. I think I can whip up dinner, and an hour later with a sink full of dishes, I finish. I think I can "throw" together a workshop I'm presenting, and finally at 3:45am give up, let go of my perfectionist tendencies, and go to bed. I want the body I had at 25 years old, but really don't have time to work that out. I want the beautiful garden, but I don't have (and truthfully don't want) the time to devote to the hideous project. And, the weighing of effort versus the outcome always plays in the back of my head.



However, growing our hearts into a beautiful garden for Him and through Him is time-consuming. It is all encompassing. It requires time to dig into His Word, analyze it, look at it forward and backward, and then meditate on it, and allow it to seep through every fiber of your mind and heart. It is time consuming, but it is life-giving. Is it worth it to find 15 minutes in your busy day? Is it worth it to miss the first monologue of Live with Kelly and Regis? Is it worth more than gold and silver? For ladies, our hearts determine everything we do...and when we change them, it affects all we do! It IS worth it! Promise!


The endless tending and caring of it: Let's face it...give your manicured garden 3 weeks and you'll need to be back out there weeding and tending to your garden. You'll need to water daily and pay attention to the grass's absorption rate and reevaluate if you're watering too much or not enough. You'll need to inspect it. You'll need to get dirty again and again. You'll need to sacrifice more clothes, more shoes, more time to maintain the beauty of your garden. However, the catch is the more frequently you tend to your garden the less you will have to do each time.



This is the same as our "heart care." We must tend to it daily. We must constantly reevaluate our growth, our intake (or lack thereof), our growth, our weeds. And we must then work to gain a balance, to prune, to dig up the roots of the weeds. Left unattended, no matter how well-meaning, your heart will have weeds in it. If we do not allow the Word of God transform our hearts and cut out the bad seeds, then we are just dreaming of a pretty heart and will never achieve it.



Sidenote: we will never have a weed-free heart. That is the curse of sin in a fallen world. However, working towards sanctification brings light and life to those around us. You will find after some intense weeding for periods of time, you will become a natural at it. You will spot the weeds from yards away, and you will spot them early because your eye is now trained. And you will know exactly what you need from Him (which He already knows for you...it's that little detail of being omniscient!!) when circumstances arise. So, perfection is NOT the goal. It's just not possible. However, being more aware today than yesterday is the goal the Lord has set before you: "...those who are wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser." (v.5)


The Thanklessness: If I was being totally honest with you, if I spent 8 hours in my garden and it finally was looking decent, I would want to invite my whole neighborhood into my backyard to admire my work and give me accolades. It's a sick validation that I thrive on, but I am motivated at times by what others think of my work, and therefore think of me.



And yet, tending to our backyard...like our hearts...is a private matter. It is a matter between the Lord and myself. The changes that come about are monumental to me, but small or even unnoticeable in what other's can see. But again, whose approval matters in this journey of sanctification? The Lord's. Faith is a private relationship between you and the Lord...and all the ins and outs of that relationship are only known to you and Him. And that is precious!



(Please note I'm NOT saying live your faith in isolation, or never get outside opinions or guidance in HOW to live out your faith in this world. God has placed people and circumstances in our paths to continue to mold us and sanctify us for His glory.)

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So look back over your March goals. What weeds do you need to get rid of? What work do you need to do? What do you need to sacrifice for the sake of the process? What's worth getting dirty for?


For ladies, dirt always washes off! It's a temporary state that is easily remedied. For He cleanses us with His blood, with His love, and in His glory!


One last tid-bit: I was reading in my Study Bible's notes as part of the introduction to Proverbs, and it says this: "What the book of Psalms is to prayer and devotional life, the book of Proverbs is to everyday life. Proverbs gives practical advice for effective living. This book is not just a collection of homey sayings; it contains deep spiritual insights drawn from experience. A proverb is a short, wise, easy-to-remember saying that calls a person to action. It doesn't argue about basic spiritual and moral beliefs; it assumes we already hold them. The book of Proverbs focuses on God- His character, works, and blessings- and it tells how we can live in close relationship to Him."


That's where we are. We know the Lord. We know what He requires. Now we must DO it! We must work. We must get dirty. We must commit ourselves day in and day out. We must concentrate on ourselves and no one else. And then, our hearts will bloom.


Love ladies!!