Man's first profession: Weeds, God and growing

I'm going on an inward journey and I would like to invite you all to join me in comments, reflection, photos and  prayer.
Two of my passions have collided as of late; gardening and the spiritual life ...both of which point me to God. How about you? Come along and see.

 I took my undergraduate degree on the East End of Long Island amid the potato fields, surf and sprawling estates of the uber wealthy. I worked for an estate care company and here learned the fine art of pulling weeds. Condensed, here is what I was I taught:


Part One: The discipline of weeding

Rule #1
Weed every day. If you do not, the roots grow making them harder to pull.

Rule #2
Grasp the weed at it's base. If you simply pull the top off it may look  good today, but it will come back quickly. Use a tool if necessary.

Rule#3
My boss always told me to take a step back and look at what you did. Ask yourself "would you put your name on it?"

Pulling weeds has always had a spiritual connection with me...not that I curse them! No, for me it parallels the life Christians are called to live. This is especially true in my tradition of Anglicanism...honest.

Rule #1
Weed every day. "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned" (Romans 12:3). We are called by God to think about our thoughts, our actions and even our emotions. Sober does not mean being miserable! It means being honest. Every day ask simply: "Lord, where I have offended you, forgive me. Please let me see my error so that I might live a life pleasing to you. Thank you for your forgiveness. Amen," If we don't take time to weed out the sin in our lives daily...the garden of our souls will quickly become overrun with weeds.


Rule #2
Grasp the weed at it's base. If you simply try to stop doing what is not pleasing to God, the behavior will resurface again. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
(Romans 12:2). Looking good on paper only looks good on paper! Reflect on where your feelings come from. Ask "Lord, I am feeling...... about this in my life. Please help me understand why"

Rule #3. Take a step back. If we keep our heads down we will quickly miss the big picture. The weeds may all be gone next to the plant we were working around, but when we step back we may see the "plant" was actually a weed too!"But he would withdraw to desolate place to pray" (Luke 5:16). We need to stop the noise and take a step back...to see where we are actually going.

Pulling weeds and spiritual growth...do you see it? I do this daily in my garden. I visualize the "spiritual weeds" in my life and pull them deeply. I confess what they are and ask forgiveness. I gather them into a bucket and through them out in the garbage. I do not compost my weeds. I don't want the seeds to come back into my garden. It is the same way with my sins...I don't want the things that are not pleasing to God to come back into my life.
Thoughts? Garden pictures?
Bless you,
Happy Weeding
b