
Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. "
Yesterday, my mom told me there is a new science in gardening. As a master gardener, my mom would know the "dirt". Her next door neighbor, a landscaper by trade, was explaining it to her. It used to be that you would dig out a site, double dig if you were serious, to get the soil all nice and fluffy soft before you would plant your garden. The new thought, that has been proven by science, is to just pull out the weeds, only dig a hole for your plant, then add compost all around after your plant is in the ground. In other words, instead of getting the plot perfect, just dig in and then add lots of the good stuff. The result is less weeds, healthy plants and a lot less work.
Our pastor is preaching a series on marriage. Today he correlated marriage to a garden. He talked about pulling out the weeds of selfishness, laziness, and fear, sowing the seeds of love, joy and peace, and bringing about good fruit by keeping in step with God. Instead of trying to manipulate my way into making everything perfect whether in my marriage or my garden, it seems the "new science" of gardening and the very old timeless words of scripture ring true: pull out the weeds, dig in deep, and add the good stuff.
Double digging a garden is really hard work. Can it be that there is an easier way that still produces great results? We have a lot of ground to plant at our new house, so I'll have ample opportunity to try it out. In the same way, can it be that loving Christ above all else, even my spouse, will help me to grow in love for him more than all the "double digging" work I've been trying to do on my own? (Yes, of course it will; you'd think I'd learn!) Loving Christ in some ways is so much simpler. So is mulching like crazy instead of digging several feet! But when weeds are covered by a thick layer of mulch, they can not grow. "When sin becomes bitter, marriage becomes sweet." When Sinners Say I Do by Dave Harvey
Galatians 5:13 "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

2 comments:
Very thoughtful post...i loved it.
This is a perfectly timed post. Thank you so much for your sweet and encouraging comments! I miss reading you, Leslie, Kim and Jenn and others who so often wrote about homeschooling years ago. I have such a fondness for that season ... me learning and leaping in faith! Our lives are all so busy and it has become more and more difficult to find the time to write but the times I find words on your blog (and the others) it is always a joy :)
Tell me if you would, what was the dosage given to you for the Vitamin D? He prescribed 50,000 IU every two weeks which seems crazy and I have yet to take it. I know I had your email at some point but if you would like to email me instead, I check this account below more often than the mercydays one.
Blessings!
Kim
kcvoiles@comcast.net
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