When my family and I moved into the house we live in now, the landscaping was so weird. Like seriously, so strange. Our neighborhood does Yard of the Month, and over the last 10 years, we have never once gotten it. We laugh about it every time we see the sign in someone else's yard. It's so funny.
Over the years, as none of my family nor I have a green thumb, it has never gotten much maintenance from us. We just leave it as is, and we are used to our yard as it is. However, sometimes we have to go and pull up some weeds or dangerous plants because they are starting to take over the garden. We’ve pulled up these specific rose bushes at the front of my house twice now, but they keep growing back. We have also learned to laugh at those stubborn rose bushes.
Today I walked outside and saw the bush was back. But this time, there was a stray vine beginning to grow about 2 feet away from the original bush. I went to pull it out and realized how deeply it was rooted. I couldn’t pull that root out on my own- I wasn’t strong enough.
I’m currently walking through a season of a lot of root digging in my spiritual life. I didn't even realize the roots of some dangerous weeds were in my heart. They start out as just a little seed of shame, doubt, pride, or sin. Over time, as we listen to the little voice of the enemy in our head that likes to lie to us, those seeds grow and become deep roots that keep us chained to our sin and chained to our shame. These roots choke the garden. These spots don’t necessarily help us in any shape or form, but they hinder the garden from any new growth.
Learning to acknowledge and dig up these roots is hard. In His mercy and love for us, God is bold enough to point out the weeds in the garden that choke us from growing in Him and in the calling He has placed on our lives. It's really hard to listen and acknowledge the part we play in planting those deep roots. We have the conscious choice to listen to the lies of the enemy and believe him, and most of the time, it's comfortable to keep the roots as they are. If I had it my way, I would leave the harmful rose bushes in the yard and wouldn’t pull even a thorn off. It hurts to look at ourselves and dig up the deep roots. But when we do, God meets us right where we are with so much grace and mercy.
Once we acknowledge and begin to notice these roots, we can actively begin to dig them up. However, digging deep roots up is so hard. It's grueling, and dirty, and it makes us sweat. The Lord is gracious enough to walk through these gardens and help us dig the roots. Sometimes, He's digging them up alone, and we have to decide to pick up the shovel and help. That's a lot what this season looks like for me. I have such a hard time taking action and getting my hands dirty pulling up my weeds.
I am not strong enough to dig these on my own. Trust me, I've tried. It's a big reason why they have rooted so deeply in my heart. I have tried time and time again to rid my life of shame, but it just turns to pride. I have tried to give up the battle with my self-worth, but the lies come creeping back and I choose to believe them every time. We cannot dig up these roots on our own because of our sin. But Jesus' death on the cross means that He has already won the battle with sin, shame, and pride. The roots don't mean anything in the light of the Cross.
Tilling the ground and digging up the weeds is the only way to reap in such a way that is glorifying to the Lord. When the weeds are pulled from the garden, the beautiful plants can grow and reap. We reap bountifully when our damaging roots are given to the Father and out of our garden for good. We must dig up the damaging and harmful roots and weeds to be able to bear His fruit. We have been crucified with Christ so we no longer live, but Christ lives within us. When we rid our lives of the things that chain us to our old selves, when we stop listening to the lies of an enemy that wants to destroy our gardens, we can begin to walk in the freedom and beauty that comes in being deeply rooted in only Him.
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