Oh how I love working on my garden surrounded by beautiful fragrant flowers. But each year with the beautiful blooms come the weeds and grass.

As I talked with the Lord in my garden today, I was telling Him how tiered I was of tilling up the dirt, over and over, every year, usually a couple times a year. Carefully hand removing every grass root I find.

“The problem is,” I told Him “is that no matter how hard I try to get every last bit of root, I just can’t do it. To make things worse the neighbors don’t even try, they just let their yard grow wild. So the weed seeds blow in from over the fence and the grass reaches under it. Its Just so frustrating Lord!”

In return a sweet small voice inside said “I know, I understand your heart completely; but I have given you these weeds as a gift.”

“A gift Lord? However could these weeds be a gift to me? I hate them! They are so ugly and distract from the beauty of the garden. Besides,” I said,” It’s so much work, and it just seems so futile. Yet I know if I don’t keep on top of it, my yard too will be taken over by the weeds.”

“ You are right hon. What else bothers you about them. Tell me, I want to know.”

“The roots are so aggressive Lord. “ I said” It seems, no matter how many times I go out and hand till the area around my cherished plants, the grass will not die. The roots hide from me and entwine themselves with the roots of my precious beautiful plants and may eventually kill them. Sometimes, Lord I am forced to strip the plant bare and wash the roots clean, making sure to remove every foreign root. This takes time, and a delicate hand. Lord it takes so much patience on my part. It is very hard on the plant too and it droops and sometimes it doesn’t recover and I will lose the plant. Even after all that work. Some times the grass is so tangled and weaved into the root base of the plant that I can not distinguish between the two and I must throw that plant away. It breaks my heart. I don’t want to lose any of my precious plants Lord, I have worked so hard to care for each one. They are so beautiful and bring my heart such joy and delight. Why then do you tell me that these weeds are a blessed gift to me?”

As I sat there watching the blossoms wave in the wind, I could hear the sweet hum of a hundred bees, birds singing from the trees and lawn mowers purring in distant yards. The warm sun on my shoulders, the day so perfect. The Lord gently whispered to me. “You are one of my precious Flowers. You are so Beautiful and fragrant to me. I know you are working hard and I am pleased that you are blooming where I have planted you. I know that you work hard to keep your life free of the weeds of sin, yet this is a sinful world and sin seems to blow in the breeze and take root everywhere. Even in well cared for gardens. There are always hidden sins that you don’t even realize are there. They hide very well, and can even become entwined in the very roots of who you are, without you even really taking much notice. That is why some times I have to dig you up out of your comfortable place and strip you bare. It hurts you, I know, but know that I do this because I love you and I want you to be saved and bloom forever. I carefully wash your roots with the water of my word and with a delicate touch remove all the foreign roots of sin to insure you will be able to grow. I see that you are weak, and I count your tears. I hurt for you my love, as I hold you gently in my hands. I also know that sometimes this process is so hard on you that you want to give up and quit. Many precious people do and refuse to grow and bloom for me, because they feel I am a cruel God, that I am being unjust. They just can’t see it at the time, that what I am doing is necessary and best for them. There are also times when I deal with hearts that have become so entwined with their sin that it is impossible to separate them from it. For they become one with their sin. It becomes such a part of them that the process of separation is too much for that person to even bare thinking about and so they choose to cling to the sin and refuse my help. This breaks my heart, for I too have to remove them. Not that I want to discard any! They are all beautiful to me. But because the roots of that sin would destroy others I must remove it from my presence.Yes Jackie! I understand your frustration with weeds in your garden, and your anger is justified. I too get angry with sin. Not because it is too much work for me, but because I know many lives will be destroyed by it. I desire that none would perish; But as the grass roots and weeds come and chock out your beautiful flowers, sin weaves it’s way through the hearts of man. Some like you will work hard to stay free from it but will be touched by it anyway. Others simply don’t care and let sin run rampant in their lives.”

“ I see Lord,” I said “ You are right, these weeds are a blessed gift from you. They have reminded me of the sacrifice you have made for me. For the reason you are angry with sin, and for your great and awesome love for every man woman and child on this planet. You are so amazing, wise and just, Lord. “ “Thank you for spending time with me in my garden. I love it when you meet me here and we have time to talk like this. Oh! and thanks for the gift of weeds! I love you Lord!”