All Choked Up

Welcome back to unseen. Lots of changes, good and bad over the last 2 or 3 weeks. Thanks to those of you who have prayed for my husband during this time. As usual, God has lessons for us during difficult times. Read on to see what I learned from mine.
All Choked Up

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,and who meditates on his law day and night.³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. Psalm 1:1-3

We went visiting this weekend and in the Panhandle, it is a little cooler than it is here. We sat out on the back patio with the dog for a while and talked. My mother-in-law is having some health problems and I asked if there was anything I could do for her outside while it was cool. After some cleaning chores, she said that she really needed the grass out of the flower beds. With the dog supervising, I got down in the soft grass to work on the flower beds. It felt so good, with the cool, damp dirt on my hands. She showed me what she needed. There were long tendrils of grass filling most of the flower bed. It was using up the nutrients and the space that the flowers needed. In some places it was so thick that the sun couldn’t get to the flowers the way they needed. She reminded me to get the roots and identified which plants were desirable and which were weeds. After a while she asked if I was tired and wanted to stop, but by that time this story was churning in my head so I finished the task. The result was a cleaner, healthier flower bed and a story about what God can teach us through the natural world.

First and most obvious is the fact that just as the weeds were using up the energy and resources needed by the plants, there are things that choke out the word and the spirit in our lives. The ones that bother me most frequently are the evil threesome of resentment, guilt and worry. Like the grass, they are all three intertwined and mixed together, feeding off each other in a destructive cycle. Your weeds may be different, such as addictive behaviors and people, or toxic anger. Whatever they are, like my mother-in-law said, you need to get the roots. Positive thinking, will power and punishment/reward programs won’t work. It is a spiritual issue and one that needs to be dealt with. Finally not all the things that end up choking us are bad things. Guilt can be a motivator for change and anxiety a prompt for better planning. It is good to help other people and righteous anger has its place. The problem comes when things get out of balance and when we are not connected to the source of our life.

Passages about plants and nature are all through the scripture. The challenge this week is to narrow them down. The first that comes to mind is Psalms 1.
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,and who meditates on his law day and night.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—    whatever they do prospers
.Jesus teaches us about spiritual growth in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, and specifically talks about the idea of things choking out the word.  In John 15:1-9 he encourages us to abide in him, the vine, so we as branches can bear much fruit. This is such a beautiful picture.