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About the Writer:
Nancy
Funke

Nancy shares her heart and her faith in her writing. She is an avid sports enthusiast, an encourager to her husband, friends and family and a hardworking servant for the Lord in her church, the local Pregnancy Resource Center, and at her job in a Christian University. With everything in her, she loves the Lord most!

 

Weeds vs. Fruit

By Nancy Funke

My husband just loves to work out in the yard. Every year he faithfully plants a nice sized vegetable garden in the backyard.

As I went outside this afternoon on this rather warm July 3 rd to check on our garden, I noticed a couple of things. After being watered just a couple of days earlier, the ground was rather dry and clumpy. And no matter how much tilling, smoothing out, and weed killer he put out before the planting, the weeds still returned. Weeds are not fun. They have a tendency to grow faster and thicker than the desired “fruit”. It amazes me how many different kinds of weeds there are. Some are rough and prickly, some are smooth, some have roots that are deep and make it hard to pull up and not disturb the fruit. So as not to endanger the growth of the fruit, my husband carefully pulls around them. Once the weeds are removed the fruit can grow more rapidly as the nutrients are not being used up by the weeds. As the weeds were being pulled I was able to see that there were some beets ripe for the harvest.

After the weeds were pulled and beets harvested, the water was turned on so the ground could become moist and the vegetables refreshed.

In our “spiritual” gardening – the time we spend tending to what God has planted in us – do we have some weeding to do? Have you allowed unforgiveness, anger, fear, a bad temper, hate, and worry to grow in our lives? Have you noticed how tedious they are to pull them out of your life, especially when they have had time to grow? Has the desired fruit in your life - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – grown weaker because the weeds in your life have grown stronger? How often do you turn on the water of God’s Word so your spiritual lives can be refreshed and nourished?

Anger – the anger of divorce was the hard to control weed in my spiritual garden. After 15 years of tilling, weeding, and weed killer in the form of Bible study, teaching and prayer, I thought the anger was gone. But that tough, prickly, deep rooted weed rapidly appeared when my son announced he wanted his Dad to be the best man in his wedding. My anger spilled out and tried real hard to overshadow that wonderful time in his life. As my son stood at the front of the church, my eyes were focused on him and his bride. I would not allow them to wonder to the groomsmen. But the Lord did a wonderful work in my life later that evening. The best man called the bride’s mother and me to share in the toast. With that the Lord humbled me and healed me. The anger of divorce weeds have been replaced with the fruit of forgiveness, peace, kindness, and self-control.

Here's some things you can do to control the "spiritual weeds" in your life:

  • Become part of a local Christ believing church, if you aren't already
  • Find a local women's Bible study to help you dig deeper and understand more
  • Recognize when the "weeds of the flesh" are getting in the way early and pluck them out
  • Refresh yourself regularly by spending time with God, reading the bible and looking for His instruction and encouragement all around you.

In your “spiritual” gardening, do you have some weeding to do?

 

Copyright © July 3, 2006 - Nancy Funke. All rights reserved.

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