Gardening and lessons learned.

OK, I must admit I hate to garden. Well, let me rephrase that, I love gardens and I love fresh flowers and veggies and being around God's beautiful creation, but I absolutely, positively hate weeding!! Well, unfortunately it is a task that needs to be done since we truly want people to come over and visit and not be attacked by the weeds and run off screaming in horror. As I was weeding, (yes, you may laugh or just plain think I'm crazy) I was quietly but oh so sternly calling the weeds "sinners". I was just imagining the garden of Eden and thinking how it must have been beautiful beyond our thoughts and how there were no weeds until the curse when Adam and Eve decided to take a bite of the forbidden fruit. Then, as my thoughts continued, I realized how many times ugly weeds, or shall we say sin, show up in my life, hidden weeds that take careful and deep digging to find and uproot and even ones that are "blowing in the breeze" for all to see. And my thoughts turned once again toward my Savior. I thought as much as I hate weeding, doesn't God do that to us? Doesn't He weed us, prune us and shape us and water us and grow us into His likeness? As much as I hate the process of getting rid of weeds, it is a task that needs to be done and I realize that it is something I so desperately want God to do in my life. I want Him to remove all those ugly things that keep me from serving and loving Him with all my heart. I want Him to take away the distractions that entangle me and keep me from the call He has placed on our lives. Just as our front yard needs weeding, so do I to keep me looking beautiful before my creator! So you know what, I guess my weeding experience yesterday wasn't all that awful. I guess God was weeding me as I was weeding my garden and for that and all the other times He so gently and lovingly does it, I will be eternally grateful!