Weeding My Heart’s Garden, Part 2

Last time I wrote about weeding sin from my heart’s garden. Today, I will tell you the best time to pull those stubborn weeds out.

Weeding After the Rain

No matter how much weeds have overtaken a patch in my garden, I’ve learned to wait for the rain before I pull them up. Pulling up weeds in dry soil is pointless. Their roots break off, so the remaining root pieces can sprout even more weeds than before. When the soil is watered, it is loose and pliable. I can pull up a weed with ease and take all the roots with the plant. Waiting for the rain is the key to eradicating weeds.

In the garden of my heart, I’ve learned that weeding is easier after rain also. Sometimes it’s the rain of life’s storms, such as sickness or unprovoked meanness from others. I didn’t ask for it, but the storm came. My gut emotional response to a life storm is the ugly sin of self-pity. The rain of the storm softens my heart and helps me turn to God for help rather than sitting in a puddle of selfishness.

Rain From My Own Tears

Sometimes the rain is from my own tears. When I’ve caused myself pain by missing a deadline, hurting a loved one, and neglecting my needs, I suffer the consequences, and tears often result. Those tears trickle down into my heart’s garden, watering all the soil and loosening the roots of those sinful behaviors. It’s easier for God to pull them up by the roots than when I try to remove those sins on my own willpower, causing them to break off and multiply.  It’s hard to admit, but true: My faith grows most when God sends storms over my heart’s garden.

Last night we received several inches of rain in my real garden, and more is on the way. When the clear days arrive next week, it’s the perfect time to weed the garden again. While I’m pulling up weeds, I’ll be thinking about the sins which have sprouted in my heart. I’ll confess them to God and ask him to pull them up, roots and all, so I’ll be healthier and stronger and more beautiful. Just like my garden.

Questions for reflection:

When has a time of storms revealed sin in your life?

Which storm are you facing now? How may God use it to clear your heart’s garden?

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