I spent some time in the garden this morning pulling weeds..lots and lots of weeds......

And as I sat there on my little stool, I couldn't help but think of how similar our lives can be to a garden.  God has placed so muck potential inside all of us and yet the devil can just creep in and take over with all kinds of thoughts and schemes.....

What do we do when faced with life's "stuff?????"

I have friends who are dealing with some huge issues right now:  parenting concerns, marriage issues, health problems,and the list goes on and on and on........I found myself praying as I pulled each weed, longing to feel God's closeness as I sat in the midst of His creation.

Jesus found Himself in a garden time and time again..walking with His Father.I have to believe He dealt with His own set of weeds as He walked on this fallen earth.  

I think the devil would love to just pull us down with the weeds he sends our way.  Defeated Christians are okay with the devil.  They don't get in his way.  They hide under their weeds trying to gasp for sunlight and air just enough to make it through the next day in their garden.

But this morning as I looked at my real garden, I knew I had a choice to make just like we do in life.  Tackle the weeds or give into them.

Today I chose to tackle them.  And guess what!?!?!  I discovered blooms on my cantaloupe, lots of green tomatoes promising a future harvest, runners on my strawberries venturing out to create new plants, and peppers almost ready to be eaten!!! 

The chapter for today is so fitting:

It is called, "Don't Give Up!"

I love  the passage that's included:

Deuteronomy 1:6-8

The LORD our God said to us at Horeb, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates.  See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers- Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-and to their descendants after them."

God was telling them it was time to get up and move on!   They had been in the wilderness long enough!

Do you ever have a wilderness feeling?  I sure do!  I can have a great day one day and then feel so defeated the next.  I have a story to share on another day about something I'm dealing with right now that has become a weed in my life, but I'll save it for Monday.

For today, I just want to encourage you to pull a weed or two in your life!  Stand up and face the mountain or the wilderness or whatever seems to be surrounding you and claim God's power as you put one foot in front of another knowing that God is with you.  He's bigger than any mountain, able to rescue you from any wilderness, and definitely not stopped by the devil's weeds of doubt, fear, insecurity, loneliness, or whatever you may be feeling.

I love you all.

I remember reading this over and over while Nick was going through chemo and facing transfusion after transfusion.  I read it now in my grief and it still brings great comfort.

Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters,
       I will be with you;
       and when you pass through the rivers,
       they will not sweep over you.
       When you walk through the fire,
       you will not be burned;
       the flames will not set you ablaze.

In order to win the battle for our mind, we have to remember that God has already promised us the victory!!!!! 

Praying for you today,