Maintaining the Lawn

When Tami and I returned from our trip to South Bend a little over a week ago we were greeted by two days of rain here in the Dallas area. It’s such a rare thing to find it raining in Texas during the summer months. I was thankful for the rain, but the problem I faced was a lawn that hadn’t been cut in over a week. It rained Sunday, Monday, and even on and off on Tuesday. My schedule didn’t allow me the opportunity to get out on Wednesday or Thursday to mow, so when Friday came I knew I had no choice. The good news is the lawn looks great—because of the heat and rain it is in the best shape I’ve seen this far into summer. The bad news is the lawn looks great—because of perfect growing conditions it is exploding with healthy growth. A project that normally would take less than an hour turned into a three-hour project because the grass had grown so much.

Have you ever realized the importance of the daily maintenance of your spiritual life? While it may not seem like a lot because you’re only spending a few minutes in the Bible, or just a short time in prayer, those moments are required to keep your spiritual life vibrant and alive. What I’ve discovered is the world is constantly telling me to live a life that doesn’t line up with the values I desire for my life. I hear every possible reason why I should be able to do whatever I want as long as I’m not hurting anyone else, but that just doesn’t work if I’m going to be complete in Christ. My life, left unattended, will see out of control growth that requires a lot of hard work to get back in balance. I’m thankful today because my yard is back in balance and looking good. I’m also thankful that because of the time I spent in prayer and Bible study my spiritual life is in balance with God’s plan for me. That doesn’t mean an unwanted weed will never pop up or some other issue will never appear, but they are easily removed or corrected because the rest of my life is in order.

We are all in this together and I encourage you to take the time to allow your life to be cultivated daily by the Holy Spirit. Not only will you be blessed but so will everyone who comes across your path.