I am not a yard person!  I can’t even keep a house plant alive!!  I’ve often said that the only living thing I could keep alive was my husband and our four children!  My Grandma Kopp had a green thumb and her yard always had lots of flowers and a large garden plus fruit trees. (Sidebar: grandma also had a hen house and my brother and I liked to gather the eggs!  And her fried chicken dinners were THE BEST!  I still remember her going to the hen house, grabbing one of those hens, wringing it’s neck, chopping off it’s head, hanging it upside down on the clothes line to “drip”, plucking it’s feathers, cleaning it up, cutting it, dipping it in whatever she used and frying that baby up! Yum yum!  Never bothered me to see it killed when I knew how good it was going to taste!).

I have killed many house plants, tomato plants, rose bushes, petunias and who knows what else!  The “green thumb” business skipped my mother and me but my son, RC, inherited grandma’s green thumb … he can grow just about anything.  When he was in high school we had beautiful rose bushes … then he left for college and they died!

We have a house in Arizona near my daughter and the yard is rocks (no mowing there!)  However I have discovered that weeds DO grow up through the rocks!!  Much to my dismay!

This morning I had planned to pull weeds and I almost talked myself out of it.  Why?  Because during the night we had a soft rain which of course would make the weeds easier to pull … so I put on my big girls flip flops and went out “in the soft rain” and pulled weeds.  (I really wanted an excuse to stay inside with a cup of coffee and a good book!)

Someone told me that here in Arizona you need to have your rocks sprayed with “Pre-Emergent” at least once a year to keep the weeds from growing up through the rocks … it doesn’t kill the good plants … only the weeds.  Well, hello!  Wish I would have known that sooner!

So while I was out there pulling weeds I got to thinking … I need to consistently use “pre-emergent” in my life!

The soil of my heart has been watered and planted with the Word of God and my life grows in Him.  However, I am not perfect … yet! 🙂  A long ways from it and that is why I must constantly and consistently come to Him for a fresh watering of His Word, love, forgiveness and confession of my sins.  It is so easy for those little weeds of discontent, bitterness, resentment, gossip, selfishness … to grow.  If we don’t deal with them DAILY, the roots of those weeds will grow deeper in our lives.  It was SO much easier this morning to pull up the little weeds than those that had deeper roots!  The little ones I could pull out with my hands (in my yard gloves!!! saving the fingernails!!!) but the deeper ones I had to use my gardening tool to loosen the roots before pulling them out.

So it is with my life … if God and I can deal with those growing weeds as they show up it is much easier than if I let them grow deeper into my life.  When God has to use His gardening tools (discipline!) on me … it hurts more.

Stay in the Word (it’s the rain that falls), deal with the things in my/your life that are not pleasing to Him and let the good grow and not the weeds!  (I’m still hoping those plants will flourish because the yard man that I’m going to hire knows what he’s doing!)

I went to the computer and sought for some information on what exactly a Pre-Emergent is, how it works and when to apply it.  Here is the comparison that came to me …

(Italics are not word for word but taken from the computer on Pre-Emergents)

Even the most careful and vigilant gardener will have weeds wanting to grow in their garden.  You and I WILL have weeds wanting to creep into our lives.  Doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a Christ follower … you will be tempted and at times those weeds will put down their roots.

The chemical compositions in a Pre-Emergent are to be used BEFORE the weeds take hold so the infant root systems can be killed and keep the weed from growing.  Folks, we MUST stay in the Word.  Jesus was tempted but how did He resist Satan?  He used the Word … “It is written” … so if Jesus knew the Word and how to use it, don’t you think we need to also?

We must “die daily” I Corinthians 15:31; “crucify the flesh” Galatians 5:24; “bring every thought captive” II Corinthians 10:5.

Some weeds that develop thick and persistent adult roots want to re-sprout in a new season and make them difficult to control with a pre-emergent formula and the formula needs to match the need.  Once you have faced temptation and biblically dealt with it … be on guard and watchful because once you think you are safe you can be caught off guard.  “Let him who thinks he stands be careful that he doesn’t fall.”  I Cor. 10:12 (World English Bible).

Timing is important.  Sure ‘nough!  That works for us too!  How is timing important?  Immediate … Confession … repentance … do not delay!

Water is required to activate the pre-emergent to carry the chemical combination down to the root system of these newly sprouted weeds.  Never apply when there is wind that will carry it away and the soil should be workable.  The water we use is the water of the Word, Ephesians 5:25, “that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.”  Stay in the Word!!! There’s a verse in Psalm 119:9 that applies to all of us, “How can a young man (or young lady, or old man, or old lady!) cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.”

And finally, do NOT let the winds of false doctrine carry you away thinking, “Oh that temptation is not so bad, or that life style is accepted today, or it’s just a little white lie”.  No, we cannot be perfect but we can be holy as HE IS HOLY!  We strive for perfection, we strive to be like Him.  The soil should be workable.  Is the soil of my heart ready to receive?

DON’T FEED THE WEED!  Weeds will grow with no help from you!  Our fight is to keep the weeds from growing by KILLING them!