The Soil Really Matters

There are few things that I enjoy more than gardening.  My mother worked in the yard a lot while I was growing up and maybe it is a part of my DNA, but I also think it is because we are all drawn to beauty. It is a yearning that God just puts inside of us.  One of the happiest times of the year for me is in the dead of winter when my daffodils and peonies start to emerge from the cold earth.  When I see them peek through the pine straw at me, I rush to welcome them, like they are long lost friends. I  spread out the straw around them so they can get as much sun as possible. And yes, I talk to them, too.

These are a few pictures of my yard that Mary Margaret took with Kenny's balling camera while she was home.   I absolutely love blooms.  When my children were small, I used to drive them to the Zoo so I could load up my van with trash bags full of "zoodo."  They had a large area where the workers put the "do" from the animals who were herbivores. The kids stayed strapped in their car seats and I shoveled the do. It was a smelly endeavor and the children usually cried but boy did my yard look great! And it was free!

I use a great fertilizer now that Jamie from Leaf and Petal recommended, but the main reason I have these blooms is because of the soil in my yard.  When we built this house in 1997, Rusty's mom, Nell, (aka Martha Stewart) inspected the Alabama red clay all around the house and told me that we had to dig it up and replace it before the first plant could be installed.  I will never forget the day that we took 10 very large men to the house to dig up the clay.  They dug, we dug and we were all filthy and exhausted. After we took out several feet of clay all around the house, we dumped in truckload after truckload of perfectly amended soil.  I continue to amend the soil year after year because I want beauty!  It is just fascinating to me to watch a bud turn to a bloom and then into a large and glorious flower.  God's handiwork never ceases to amaze me.

I got to thinking the other day about how the soil of our heart is similar to the soil in our gardens but it is much more important.  The Parable of the Sower can be found in Matthew 13,  Mark 4 and Luke 8. Jesus used a parable to teach us a lesson four different responses to his message.  In the illustration he used descriptions of various types of soil to represent four different types of responses....the first one is the hard hearted person who rejects the message. The second is the emotional responder who quickly fades away. The third is the person who is not willing to pay the cost of being a disciple of Jesus.  The fourth person is the faithful disciple.   These are people with willing hearts who respond to the Good News.  They are committed and faithful and their lives change as a result! They bear beautiful fruit (like my flowers) and others are attracted to them because of this beautiful fruit.  They have the aroma of Christ! Paul says in 2 Cor. 2:14-15 : " But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.  For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. "  As believers we have a huge responsibility to be life-giving and sweet smelling to all we meet!

Get some time alone this week and examine your fruit.  Ask your husband and your children or your best friends "how am I doing?" Am I a fragrant aroma or do I smell more like the zoodo?

"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. "
Luke 6:45

" A man reaps what he sows. " Gal. 6:7

Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."   1 Sam. 16:7 says: " The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. "  Lord, I pray today that we would be transparent before you. Bring to mind any "soil" that needs to be dug up and thrown away. Amend the soil of our heart so that we can bear much fruit.   Give us a desire to confess our sins to you for forgiveness and to each other so that we may be healed.  Bless us, Lord , with fruit that is pleasing to you and with fruit that will last for eternity.  Amen.