Mrs. Obvious Time!

On Saturday I got up with the sun to go and tend the garden for a while by myself. It was fun because of not only tending the garden but I got to commune with the Son at the same time.

A lot of different obvious things struck me, so you will have to indulge me while I point out these obvious-ities.

Mrs. Obvious #1 : Weeds and sin, again. And again, I assume most Christian gardeners would correlate these things, (and I keep thinking about a lot of the same things, but I think also I am getting old, and with age I need a lot of reitteration). I spent a lot of time weeding. Some were obvious and others small and others large and others try to disguise themselves as a real plant and others that anywhere else, they would not be such a weed. While weeding around the mess that is the tomato plants, there are grass weeds growing trying to go unnoticed and under the radar.

And grass is not a bad thing, as long as it is not in the garden. Some sins are like that too. In the hands of one wo/man, they are not that bad, but in the hands of another can be hazardous to their health. For me, I kept thinking about all those gray areas of life and it truly brought to life Romans chapter 14. And while the whole chapter is great I will just add...

Romans 14:12-13 "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way."

Mrs. Obvious #2 : Thinning and discipline, again. I thinned Ezekiel's carrots on Saturday too. It was something I was not wanting to do. They all looked so healthy and green and growing so tall and strong. They even smelled like real carrots! But I knew I had to do it. While I was pulling them out I kept thinking about how it is like when God disciplines us as His children.

(Sometimes I wish discipline would be as easy as being a kid again, immediate consequences and it's done. Discipline as an adult is so much more involved and complicated. It seems more painful because it takes longer to work out, or it involves other adults who have hearts and feelings as well.)

The thing I was reminded of is how it is painful to God when He disciplines us. He doesn't revel in our hardships, but He knows the good on the other side is so worth it. I hated pulling out the good little carrots, but they were ultimately going to stunt the growth of everyone else. I needed to thin them out so the ones could grow strong and bigger. It was so painful to me, but oh for the good of the carrots. As it is with God and us, enter Hebrews 12, specifically...

Hebrews 12:11 "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

Mrs. Obvious #3: Our garden pales in comparison to the others, but thankfully it is still growing! When I first got to the garden on Saturday I strolled up and down the other 70+ lots, counting how many bunnies I saw, etc. I was amazed by some of the other gardens! Some had fancy fences, little treasures, lots of flowers, etc. Not only that, but the plants themselves were enormous!

I took a bunch of photos on Sunday of some of them to show their hard labors! It once again made me happy that I have not killed this garden yet. While I could compare to them and get down on myself, I am honestly really thankful we have made it this far. (I mean really, do you know that Nathan once left me in charge of all his beautiful dorm plants and I single-handedly killed them all?)

1 Corinthians 3:7 "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things