(Sometimes we get so focused on not doing the wrong things, that we lose sight of living out the good things.  Our lives were meant to be full and rich and contagious.  We were meant to be a life-giving garden, not a weed-free plot of useless land.)

She looked out at the land she’d been given.  A blank slate of rich dirt laid before her eyes.  The soil a breeding ground for growth and life.

Every day she came to survey her land.  Her eyes would scour the ground to make sure that no sprouts of green were poking their way out of the soil.  She didn’t want her land to become a weed infested mess.  And so, her hoe in hand, she would make it her mission to rid herself of the pesky weeds.

But weeds tend to be persistent.  And try as she might to fight them, they found ways of multiplying in the fertile soil.  After all, there was nothing else there for the ground to pour its rich nutrients into.

The poor girl worked night and day to stay on top of this endless task.  And as she wiped the sweat from her brow and exhaustion overtook her, she knew there had to be a better way.  More to life than killing and pulling and ridding the ground of weeds.

And then she saw it.  Out in the middle of the land, she saw a flower.  A bold sunflower that stood up straight and tall and lovely in the middle of the dirt and the weeds she had missed.  And she had an idea…

What if she used all that land for good things?  What if she planted fruits and vegetables and  trees and flowers?  What if the land was so full of healthy, beautiful things that there wasn’t room for the all these weeds?

And so she began planting and fertilizing and watering. Each day watching and waiting with anticipation of what was to come.  And happen they did.  Soon things were popping up through that bare, brown soil.  But instead of just weeds, she saw the beginnings of lovely things that she could eat and smell and taste.

She found that the more that she nurtured her ground that had now become a life-giving garden, the more it grew and flourished.  And before she knew it, there was too much produce, too many bouquets, too much goodness for just herself.  She began to share it with others around her – family, friends, neighbors.  Others’ lives were enriched by her bounty and  the idea began to catch on.  They began to transform their lands of dirt into gardens of their own.

And those relentless weeds?  Oh, they still came around sometimes.  But they were no longer her focus.  She was so dedicated to her garden and the joy of  being a part of producing delectable fruit and aroma-rich flowers that the occasional need to pull weeds just went side by side with her gardening.  It became all one process.  She no longer feared the weeds, but realized that though they would always try to find their way into her garden, as long as the ground was fertile and the good things were growing, the weeds would not win.  There was no room for them.

Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.