Spring has sprung, here come the weeds!

Looking out my back window I see new life rising up. Flowers are blooming, leaves are unfolding, fruit from our plum tree is soon to follow and weeds are starting to raise up their ugly heads. Even with the beauty of spring bursting forth, a bit of the unwanted still comes. I think this is a wonderful example of our lives. Pardon the mixture of metaphors but I think you'll get the point.

You are now a follower of Christ, Hallelujah! You have received Him in your life and asked Him to make you new. He has begun to shine through your life with glorious fruits of His Spirit, yea!

It all starts with Him:

5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

The definition of the Fruit of the Spirit is:

22 .. the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.. Gal 5:22-23

So where did that bit of resentment just come from? How about that anger? How about that impatience?

Just as with a garden it’s not until the weeds of our flesh or the bad fruit comes out that we are able to see what needs to be removed by the Master Gardener.

1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15:1


If you want to be one of His branches that bears fruit you must allow the pruning process to occur. If you want to have more flowers bloom in your life and have His fragrance permeate your being, all that is taking away from it's growth must be removed.

So often we want to run away, stuff or ignore the ugly parts of our character. Instead of beating yourself up for another fit of rage that came out, why not stop and ask God to show you the root of that anger. He wants to help remove that part of your character. He wants to bloom throughout your whole being so others will look and see His glorious work that is alive in your life.

We need to learn to be thankful when we see the weeds in our lives because God is allowing us to see areas that need a bit more attention. Maybe even a pick ax is needed to get down to that very stubborn root in your life. 

The great thing about God as our Master Gardener is that He knows where to work, how far to dig and He does it in a way that doesn't reveal too much for us to handle at a time. He even knows how to dig out the unwanted while keeping the flourishing parts of our character that He has started to develop.


Sometimes the reason why we act a certain way stems from years of abuse or certain bad things that may have happened as a child. In some cases we have buried the offense so far down that we didn't even know it was there. But our actions reveal that there is something deep within that needs to be pulled up. 


For example, God has shown me how defensive and hurt to most criticism I would become. It was evident by how I would quickly lash back with my justification as to why I was right without even considering another persons opinion. 


This year I invited the Gardener in more than ever to do His Work and He has been able to show me deep roots of pride that needed to be pulled out. He has worked over the years to remove pebbles and rocks along with bad soil to get to the root. This was the year to pull it out. Thank You Jesus! Now I can finally hear and learn more so that more good fruit can come out! He was able to replace that weed in my life with His Love and Acceptance for me just as I am and not because of my performance. All because I am His daughter. 

He lovingly continues to show me new areas that need to be worked on, it’s a life long process. I have learned however not to run away from the revelation of my weeds as they lift their ugly heads, but to run to Jesus with thanksgiving so He can show me what needs to be rooted out. This will allow Him to plant more of His beauty in my life. More of Him and less of me, that is my hearts cry!

29 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him. 
Romans 8:29

Let’s truly rejoice in all that God has in store for us. Welcome the Master Gardener in your life today!


24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Dear Lord, please help me to embrace all that You have for me today. Help me to open my eyes to see those rocks and weeds in my character that need to be extracted so more of Your beauty can spring forth. I choose  to walk through this life with thanksgiving knowing that You are working everything out in my life to make me more like Jesus. Have Your way my Lord. Pour out Your Living Water on and in me as Your Son shines in my life bringing out more of Your glorious Fragrance from Your Spirit within as You bloom in me today.

In Jesus Name, Amen.