Dirt, Weeds, Sin and my Heart

Upon discovering that the previous renters in my parents house had put in a garden in the large backyard, I decided that this would be the year that I tried my hand at gardening. It was cemented when  my brother's moved in. For the past few months we've been talking about the garden and what we will plant. We've been dreaming of how we will transform both the front and back yards into a landscape that will not only be visually appealing but will also provide us with most of the vegetable we will need for the year.

None of us have really gardened. Ever. As a young girl I would sometimes help my grandma pull weeds in her flower beds. I learned then that you must pull them out at the root and often times the roots go much deeper than you would ever guess simply by looking at the top of the plant. This was, until now, the extent of my gardening experience. 

Last week my brothers and I made a trip to the store to buy the things we would need to begin. We spent a few hundred dollars on seeds, bulbs, soil conditioners, shovels, gloves, rakes and hoses for watering. I was getting quite excited for this endeavor. 

Today, I decided to get out in the garden and continue the process my brother's had started yesterday of pulling out weeds and tilling up the soil. As I was kneeling in the dirt, hacking at hardened soil and thick roots, I began thinking of more than just that literal act of gardening. 

I was reminded of the Sin and the Curse. I use the big s sin here, because that is where my mind first went. To the original sin Adam and Eve committed in the Garden. I was reminded of the words God spoke to Adam, telling me that because of his sin, man would forever be forced to work for food and sustenance. No more would food simply sprout from the ground like it had in the Garden, but now it would require toil and sweat. It's always been so interesting to me that Adam and Eve's sin did not just affect them and it did not only affect people, but it affected all of creation. Weeds exist because of sin. I have to toil in the garden for hours and hours to produce a relatively small amount of food. 

This got me thinking of the more personal implications of sin and how gardening relates. Just like I have to prepare the soil in my garden to produce food, I must also prepare the soil of my heart to bear fruit. And let me tell you, this process SUCKS! I honestly don't like the process of preparation one bit. It's difficult, it's tedious. I am not a very patient person. I would rather someone else do the hard work while I sit back and relax and enjoy the fruits of their labors. Buying my veggies at the grocery store is so much easier than growing them myself.

But I can do that with my heart. I have to go in and plow up the soil in my heart. I have to pull out the weeds and I must pull them out at the root. Lately I have found myself getting very impatient and frustrated with my lack of spiritual progress. Today as I was kneeling in the dirt, pulling out weeds, I realized what I was doing wrong. 

I haven't been willing to get in and do the hard work of preparation. I want the the fruit without the work. I want to say a prayer and maybe go through a class at church and see everything radically transformed. But that's not the way it works. I need tear out the weeds at the root. I need to turn over the soil and pull out the rocks and I need to add fertilizer and compost to the soil. Once I have done that, then I need to plant the seeds of the things I want to see manifested in my life. And even then I am not done. I must water, and weed, and weed some more. I must wait patiently and allow the light of Christ to nourish those seeds. 

Only then will I see fruit in my life. Only then will I see progress and true lasting change. 

So as I continue to work on my earthly garden, I will also work on my spiritual garden. I will use this garden not only for food but as a reminder of what I must be doing in my personal life. 

Who knew this endeavor would affect more than just my stomach?