This was one view of my flower garden from last June. I’m starting to wonder if I’ll have as many flowers this year . . .
My coreposis plants are coming up right now, but not nearly as numerous as they’ve been in previous years. I’ve had many other perennials stop showing up altogether. What gives?
Growing Conditions
This little yellow flower is popping up as it normally does. Common Cinquefoil, according to the Audubon Society, indicates impoverished soil.
Yikes!
And then I have these unwelcome guests popping up everywhere, effectively blocking the sun from reaching anything attempting to grow from underneath their broad leaves. Their roots go deep, stealing what resources they can from their nearby neighbors.
Cat’s-ear may be bee-friendly, but I’d really like a bit of diversity in my flower bed — not just dandelion lookalikes!
So I’ve got intruders stealing limited resources from the plants I want to grow. This season may not be as exciting as in years past! Should I just give up and throw in the shovel?
Of course not.
First of all, I’m weeding as I go, pulling up what I don’t want (hopefully before they spreads seeds everywhere).
I’m also working on growing a nice compost pile through the summer, and in the fall I’ll work that into the soil. Not only will the compost add nutrients, but the organic matter will help retain water so it doesn’t run off quite so fast.
Last year I added some good soil to one particularly sandy area of the garden, and had a ton of early bee-friendly “weeds” pop up this spring.
And besides, it’s still early yet! My flower patch may have a few surprises in store for me in a few weeks.
Heart Conditions
Our hearts can have limited resources being robbed by unwelcome intruders just like my flower bed.
We need to regularly “amend the soil” of our hearts. Spending time in prayer; studying, meditating on and obeying the Word of God; worshiping with other believers; and serving in a local church are all ways we can improve our spiritual heart condition.
And then there are the resource robbers. Jesus identified them as “the cares and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14 NLT). They may start out small, but the more we focus on and pour energy into these things, the more important they become to us. They begin to choke out the spiritual growth and maturity Christ wants to lead us into.
John wrote it this way: “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever” (1 John 215-17).
What have you been craving lately? Christ’s offer of abundant life is so much more than anything this world has to offer!
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
John 10:10
I have had little, and I have had much. I can tell you that life is not measured in “things.” Things don’t last. Things don’t bring meaning. Things don’t provide enduring joy.
But there is Someone who does . . . do you know Him?
Lauri Hawley 