Pulling Weeds

This week I went for a bushwalk with a very special friend of mine. It was about an hour of strolling in our gumboots over the 40 acres looking at the scenery, checking the water levels, catching glimpses of wildlife, removing fallen branches from the horse trails and ... pulling weeds. In the middle of the bush.

I didn't realise this was a necessary part of living in the bush, but apparently the best way to keep the land healthy and free from being overgrown, is to keep on top of the weeds as they sprout up.

My 3yr old son has a knack for gardening and tried his hand at weed pulling while I was talking in the carpark at church. Yep, you guessed it. He and a little friend were pulling all the newly planted seedlings out of the garden. That is NOT the kind of weed pulling I am referring to!

My bushwalking friend had a keen eye for plants and knew that those pretty little flowers would grow up and end up killing all the native vegetation that we were currently enjoying, making it uninhabitable. She knew that a little effort at each walk through the bush would save a lot of chainsaw time later on.

I took a walk with God today. I had to put on my gumboots because he had sent the rain, preparing the ground of my heart for a little weed pulling of his own. Sometimes he and I walk and admire the scenery and stop to look at new things which have blossomed or grown. Sometimes he surprises me with wildlife experiences. Sometimes he shows me some dry patches in need of living water. Sometimes he helps clear obstacles to make my path easier and other times, we pull weeds. Weeds of pride, self sufficiency, anger, intolerance, jealousy, envy, discontentment or worry. An insurmountable task if you consider all the areas that need work, but tackling one spot at a time as he points out the rogue plants and pulling them out together isn't so bad.

And the result is a well watered sanctuary where I can sit with him and enjoy his company. And when someone else sees it, they might even say "How do you keep this place so nice?" and I'll look at him, and he'll smile and say "Tell her!"

"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11

Time to take a walk?