Pulling Weeds and other life lessons!

Now that Spring has arrived it is so wonderful to watch how uniquely it unfolds here in Missouri. Yes, Spring is Spring, I know! However, being in a rural area and being surrounded by farms makes Spring's unfolding very different.

First of all we have such a variety of trees in our yard that watching them bud, bloom and blossom has been neat. It seems like everyday I look out the trees have drastically changed. We went away for an overnight trip and just in that 24 hours the appearance of Spring vibrantly mulitplied in our yard.

The farm life scenery has also changed. While we have no "animal life" at our house (except for the extrordinary amount of mice we have trapped in our garage since our arrival and though they "once lived".....well,you get the picture) and we do not plan on getting any, I have enjoyed seeing all of the little baby animals suddenly emerge and fill the scenery. The fields have flourished with new life.


Spring also chases away the deadness of winter. When we arrived here it was so bitterly cold and bare. But with the arrival of Spring it has given me a fresh look on how beautiful it is here in Missouri. I have readily welcomed the green grass, the appearance of unique birds, and even the presence of Spring chores. I always get a refreshed feeling when I clean off a flower bed or wash a screen or window.We have a lot more to "clean up" now with our new house, and while it seems overwhelming at times, there is a feeling of renewal and pleasure even with just observing a freshly mowed yard.


This past weekend we worked outside. We successfuly cut out/off a GINORMOUS root,resurfaced a once landscaped area in hopes to plant grass, and weeded an entire side of the house. As I was weeding a very neglected flower bed, I was reminded of how much work it takes to "keep up" a yard, especially if it hasn't been cared for some time. It is so much harder to clean out and clean up something that has been neglected or let to itself. I found myself losing interest or being sidetracked because there seemed to be so much to do. But when I would take time to look at what I had already done, it encouraged me.


The Lord continued to bring to my mind the my need of daily renewal. Praise the Lord, I need not wait for a Spring season, nor until the weeds overtake me to be renewed. Sometimes I may even need cut back in order to produce fruit. And some days I may need to stop and look back and see what the Lord has done so that I may be encouraged to see how the Lord has worked in my garden.


PSALM 51

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

I like it when the Lord uses something like weed pulling to remind me of Him!