Reason #449
Aaron and I did yard work this afternoon. I'm not a big fan of working in the yard, but it was a beautiful day and, by the looks of the yard, we needed all hands on deck. It has been months since the yard has been done. I suppose the last time it was mowed was in September, and the weeds have come back with a vengance. Seriously, why can't the grass grow like weeds and the weeds like grass? Wouldn't that be nice for a change? Anyway, Aaron did most of the work and I just followed him around with the bucket picking up all of the weeds he was uprooting. Truthfully, the worst weed was the billions of fescue grass clumps that were taking over the yard. You can't pull that stuff up with your hands. You can try, but all you get it a hand full of blades. Honestly, they look close enough to grass that I'd just assume mow them rather than pull them. However, when they grass is dead, you can definitely tell a difference between the real grass and the pretend-grass weeds. Poor Aaron had to hoe up those clumps of grass, and even though we spent 2 hours out there, we still have our work cut out for us. Thank goodness for team work (more for my sake than Aaron's)!
I like to get things done all at once. Just get it over with if possible so it can be marked off of the list. Pulling weeds isn't fun. Of course, it helps greatly when you have enjoyable company to pull weeds with. It makes the process not seem as bad, and it definitely makes the time pass by much faster. And so we pulled as much as we could before deciding that we just weren't going to get it all done in one day. I suppose that's okay. The weeds will still be waiting on us tomorrow, but we did decide that once we finally got all of the weeds pulled, we were going to make sure and stay on top of the yard so they didn't take over again.
This seems to be a trend in life, too. Things spring up over time. We think we're just fine and next this we know, we take a look at our lives and realize that we've got some work to do. How did those little things pop up? Where did they come from? You know what I'm talking about. Those little things, little secrets, little sins, addictions, rebellious ways, jealousy, pride, greed, lies. Those little things that seem to sneak in so easily yet are so difficult to get rid of. And it's work, a lot of work to clean it all up. One day things seem fine, the next thing you know you're way in over your head. But God is gracious not to make us do this ourselves. Rather, He comes along side us and begins to help uproot those detrimental things in our lives. He helps us pull them out and throw them away. And it doesn't seem like such an overwhelming task when you've got excellent help on your side. In fact, it's encouraging, and it helps you actually get it done. As with most things, it takes time. Time, lots of effort, a little pain, and serious determination. However, it's so exciting to see progress. To turn around and realize that things are looking different, more like they should. And so you stay on top of it, you don't let those things sneak back up rather you pull them and chunk them as soon as you see it. Because you did way too much work to get back into that state again.
And I'm so thankful for that. Thankful that God never leaves us alone to do all the work but rather helps us through it. And even if it takes a while, even if it's hard and not enjoyable, He still shows up willing and ready everytime. Ready to get things back in order, back in shape, and back to the way they should be.
#449 - Because He never leaves us alone to do the work but works along-side us!
"But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." - Colossians 3:8-10
I like to get things done all at once. Just get it over with if possible so it can be marked off of the list. Pulling weeds isn't fun. Of course, it helps greatly when you have enjoyable company to pull weeds with. It makes the process not seem as bad, and it definitely makes the time pass by much faster. And so we pulled as much as we could before deciding that we just weren't going to get it all done in one day. I suppose that's okay. The weeds will still be waiting on us tomorrow, but we did decide that once we finally got all of the weeds pulled, we were going to make sure and stay on top of the yard so they didn't take over again.
This seems to be a trend in life, too. Things spring up over time. We think we're just fine and next this we know, we take a look at our lives and realize that we've got some work to do. How did those little things pop up? Where did they come from? You know what I'm talking about. Those little things, little secrets, little sins, addictions, rebellious ways, jealousy, pride, greed, lies. Those little things that seem to sneak in so easily yet are so difficult to get rid of. And it's work, a lot of work to clean it all up. One day things seem fine, the next thing you know you're way in over your head. But God is gracious not to make us do this ourselves. Rather, He comes along side us and begins to help uproot those detrimental things in our lives. He helps us pull them out and throw them away. And it doesn't seem like such an overwhelming task when you've got excellent help on your side. In fact, it's encouraging, and it helps you actually get it done. As with most things, it takes time. Time, lots of effort, a little pain, and serious determination. However, it's so exciting to see progress. To turn around and realize that things are looking different, more like they should. And so you stay on top of it, you don't let those things sneak back up rather you pull them and chunk them as soon as you see it. Because you did way too much work to get back into that state again.
And I'm so thankful for that. Thankful that God never leaves us alone to do all the work but rather helps us through it. And even if it takes a while, even if it's hard and not enjoyable, He still shows up willing and ready everytime. Ready to get things back in order, back in shape, and back to the way they should be.
#449 - Because He never leaves us alone to do the work but works along-side us!
"But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." - Colossians 3:8-10