Work in Progress

My back yard is a mess. The job is so overwhelming that I don't know where to start. I mean, I love a garden. I love the peacefulness, the scents, the birdsong...but I'm not sure I like the work it takes to get there. It's hard work. It takes planning, patience, endurance...not to mention a strong back. But I have a vision.

This week is going to be a beautiful week. It isn't supposed to rain at all this week, which is remarkable for where I live. The sun is out, the mountain is out, the birds are out...and I'm going out. Out to the garden to work. Well, technically it's not a garden yet...but it will be.

I'm not a natural gardener, which means I'm not the type of person that craves to be out there digging every minute of every day. I like it, but it has its limitations. I can't read while I'm out there and I can't knit either...both of which I love to do...so I'm pulled in all directions. Bruce is even less of a yard enthusiast than I. He would be perfectly happy to have a yard of rock...no mowing. But, he's being so good to get out there and do stuff that I know he doesn't enjoy, for no other reason than he knows it pleases me. But, hey, when it's sunny, you better go outside.

We have all this ugly rock that has to be moved before we can even start on the garden. It's drudge work...nasty....boring. Makes my arms and back hurt, but it has to be done before we can start planting. So I'm out there moving this rock and I'm thinking that this is a lot like my life. There's stuff in my life that I need to shovel out and get rid of. Old habits, old hurts. The kinds of things that make life harder and make becoming like Jesus harder. It's not fun either. It takes hard work, patience, and endurance. And there's so much of it!

This morning I got carried away and thought why not just dig this old rose bush up and get it out of the way and not have to bother Bruce with that? So...I get the shovel and start. I work about 15 minutes with not much progress. I'm beginning to sweat and get a little aggravated at this rose bush. It doesn't even come up to my knees for goodness sake. But I can't get the thing out of the ground. It won't budge. Face it...I need help.

That's so my approach to things sometimes. Leave me alone...I can fix it. It's hard to admit that you have your limitations, especially if you're used to being pretty good at things. Apparently, this rose bush has been in the ground a while. Sometimes the things that have been with us a long time, we find difficult to deal with. Sometimes we can't even see that they're there. We need someone's help. It would be nice if I could just give that rose bush a little tug and it would come up, but it's not going to. But I bet with help, I'll uproot it.

My vision for my back yard is so beautiful. A good friend of mine worked on it with me and drew a plan for it. I have it all on paper. I know what the dimensions need to be, what plants to buy, and where to put them. I have a reading area and areas for birds and wildlife. You see, I needed something concrete to look at. Something to keep me going when I get tired of working on it. Something to keep me restless because it isn't finished. Something to remind me of what it will be.

It's why I need to hear the stories of Jesus over and over. To remind me of God's plan for me. That I too am a work in progress and so that I can catch a vision of what could be, and what will be one day.