“Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.” (Hosea 10:12)
The time of year has begun when gardens are planted and the earth springs forth with new life. Each spring my husband faithfully begins to cultivate the ground for his planting. I watch him from our deck as he marks off his garden area, cleans out the old remnants of last year’s garden, and begins to plow the ground in order to make it ready to receive the fertile seed.
As the earth turns over and over I remember the godly ladies who recently joined me as we studied Lysa Terkeurst’s Unglued. God began a work in our hearts. He plowed up the hard places and revealed hidden emotions that corrupted our thinking and our fruitfulness.
Each week we pulled weeds together as we worked through the sessions. Some of us struggled with weeds of worry and doubt. Others with weeds of perplexity and understanding God’s will. Still others with weeds of the everyday cares of life.
With the plow of God’s word we turned over rocks that lay just below the surface of our hearts. Rocks we didn’t realize were there. Rocks of unforgiveness. Rocks of anger. Rocks of impatience. Rocks of guilt and shame. Sometimes we hit deeply embedded roots from our sinful nature. Personality quirks that stopped the progress of the plow. Together we worked to chopped them back and pulled them away.
When we began Unglued I wanted a single reminder of our journey together so I created a white board marked ‘Before and After.’ Our ‘before’ pictures depicted our inability to deal with common emotions God’s way.
Some of us became more aware of our state of Unglued-ness as we worked through the sessions with Lysa. We had sort of accepted our unglued responses as who we were, and we really didn’t see them through the eyes of God. Lysa helped us to re-think our emotions and re-think how we respond to perceived challenges.
Do we build walls?
Are we ‘exploders’ or ‘stuffers’?
Are we stuck on a carousal of raw emotions repeating the same cycle over and over?
Do we really want to come to the end of our lives ‘half-chiseled’?
The answers came differently to each of us. But we all answered a resounding, “No” to allowing our lives to be ruled by untamed emotions.
“Remember, feelings are indicators, not dictators. They can indicate there is a situation I need to deal with, but they shouldn’t dictate how I react. I have a choice.” (Unglued, Lysa Terkeurst)
Breaking up the unplowed places of our hearts can be painful. But through it God can work and sow his fertile seed within our souls. From that seed springs a fruitful life offered back to God in praise for his unfailing love.
As the growing season progresses let us choose to act God’s way and not react in raw emotion.
Our progress may be ‘imperfect’, but it is progress nonetheless.
Oh, by the way, here’s a sampling of our “After” pictures in answer to the question: What would you like your life to say to those around you?:
“Live faithfully and praiseworthy”
ICor. 4:2, Ps. 34:1
“Love will get you through”
“Strength thru His strength, not mine”
Phil. 4:15
“A happy heart”
Open communication to improve relationships
Patience, virtue, knowledge…”
2Pet. 1:5-8
“O, Lord, help me to be your servant.”
“Kind, tenderhearted, forgiving”
Eph. 4:32
Mt. 22:37-39
“Faithful, peaceful, gentle”
Ps. 40
This article was/is absolutely awesome! Beautifully written, too. Thank you!
This article was/is absolutely awesome! Beautifully written, too. Thank you!
For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. Matthew 12:50 Carla thank you for the Blessing of your blog.
For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. Matthew 12:50 Carla thank you for the Blessing of your blog.