My heart is overgrown with weeds, but the Lord cultivates the garden. He cuts what is overgrown to make room for more growth, to multiply what is good. He tends to the thorns, and uproots what has invaded the bed. He turns over the soil, he prunes back the dead. He waters the roots, he facilitates life.

For the past two weeks, the women of our squad have embarked on various ministry missions in Black Mountain, North Carolina! Our group is partnering with local ministries, and we are housed at a small community college. While our tents are pitched on a soccer field, we are so blessed to have hot meals prepared for us and access to indoor facilities! We wake up every morning at dawn for breakfast, expectant and eager for the day's ministry assignment. My team has found ourselves completing a wide variety of tasks, from chopping logs to uprooting trees to shoveling gravel and mulch. Doing this kind of ministry with your sisters in Christ provides plenty of space for rich conversations and abundant laughs. It also leaves ample room to meditate, to think, and to wonder.

 As my hands finger through the soil and rock, tearing up roots and undergrowth, I can’t help but marvel at the great vinedresser, our Heavenly Father. Similar to a man tending to his garden, when we abide in the Word, God tends to our hearts (John 15:2). Every inclination within us that does not produce favorable fruit will be uprooted and discarded. The Lord eradicates the desires of the flesh, the sins that tangle and invade the bed, in order to make room for our talents, the gifts that are beautiful. Our Heavenly Father wants to watch the garden thrive, to produce a plentiful harvest; Not to see it perish and wilt under the pressure of our human condition. In order to reap a bountiful harvest, the vinedresser prunes and nurtures the plants that produce good fruit. For God to do this, we also have to do our part. By trusting in the goodness of what God has for us, and living out a life of faithful prayer and dedication, we can walk confidently in the fruits of love, joy, and peace!

As I examine my own heart, I realize that my flower beds are consumed by the pride of life and lust of the flesh. However, through faithful prayer, humble supplication, and consistent thanksgiving, God will protect our hearts from things that do not align with the good works He has prepared us to walk in (Philippians 4:6-7, Ephesians 2:10). Let God weed out what is weighing you down and holding you back. It’s messy, and it hurts, trust me I know. But the fruit from it? It is oh so sweet!

Until next time,

Olivia