Playing in the dirt

The Lord God formed the human from the topsoil of the fertile land and 
blew life’s breath into his nostrils. The human came to life. Genesis 2:7 (CEB)

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I had the television on earlier this week and overheard a preacher say something about playing in the dirt. He started talking about planting seeds and watching them sprout up. And it got me to thinking about Matthew 13. Talk about a great collection of parables. JESUS talks about planting in all types of soil, about tares springing up, and about harvesting. He also talks about us wanting to understand what He's saying so that we can give back some of what we take in for ourselves (Matthew 13:52 MSG - I want to live this verse).

The preacher went on to talk about planting. He said that if we plant seeds that represent the fruit of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, kindness, self-control, gentleness, patience, faithfulness, and forbearance) we can reap a harvest of souls for the Kingdom. I missed the rest of what he was saying, but if he concluded his sermon like I'd expect, I am sure he went on to say something about the other fruit we can plant too. Y'all know, those rotten seeds that James talks about in James 3:16; seeds of discord, hate, jealousy, and selfishness.  And because the Holy Spirit deals with me through real life application of scriptures (well Him and my random thought process), I started thinking about our strawberry plants from earlier this spring. My husband was worried about uprooting them when he weeded the patch (Matthew 13:25-30 addresses this). It is a tedious process because the berry roots and vines get intertwined with the weeds. He had to remove the weeds carefully, intentionally, slowly. So then my mind drifted to modern day church houses...

Sometimes I wonder, from the outside looking in, if the congregations ever look like a weed-infested garden?  There we sit, all human, wanting to show off our good fruit but overtaken by our weeds? And those outsiders looking in...they are jumping for the chance to inspect or judge our fruit.  But this post isn't about the onlookers...it is about 'us believers'. It's about us playing in dirt. I doubt if any of you have ever done this, but there were times when I thought "Hey, I'm an adult, I'll do or say whatever I want!" So my hands were dirty and my fruit looked more like weeds.  Yet other times, I knew that I planted good stuff, waited patiently for the harvest, and wondered why it didn't grow. I guess it was/is because of those days when I planted weeds. Can't I just grab them back without tearing out the good stuff? According to the Bible - nope. I have to let them grow right there.  But I don't want a bunch of bad stuff growing in my dirt where others can see...but...let's go a step further.  

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I'll bet that if I start pulling up the bad seeds I've sown, it could look like what I'm trying to do is cover them up, bury them, hide them, pretend they don't exist; like I only ever plant good stuff...but...those onlookers I mentioned earlier? Yeah, they've seen my weeds sprouting up. They've witnessed the stench of rotten fruit. Its there and its real. I may be able to deceive myself, but I can't fool anyone else, let alone God! Thankfully, the older and more mature I become in Christ, the stronger my desire grows to plant only the good stuff. To sow and share the seeds of the Holy Spirit's fruit. I still have to deal with the other stuff from time to time, but I no longer care to be found guilty of Playing in the Dirt.

"Sometimes we get ourselves encased in life's messes
and have no idea how to get out..."

Hey y'all, have a blessed Wednesday,

In Christ with love and compassion,

Coach Kelly

#YourLifeCoachingWV; #WVStrong; #BeyondTheMirror