Weeding Out.

Excerpt from Over 50 Don't Mean Your're Dead: My Spiritual Journey

Over the last few weeks
I have watched
as the gardener
cut back overgrown areas on our work property.
I watched
an overgrown willow tree,
that looked like a "Sesame Street" character, transformed into a real
picture book tree.
I have seen thickets of brush
cut away and turned into mulch
for the area that once was covered.
When I'm home,
I look out and
my neighbor is going through
the same process,
weeding and cutting back.
As I look at the transformation
I think about the changes
that I have gone through
in my life.
How I have been
surrounded by thickets, and
overgrown by the weeds
that have caused me
not to grow.
These things don't
sneak up on us,
they grow
before our eyes.
There comes a day when people can't see who we
are for all the things that have surrounded us.
Many times
thickets have a
life of their own.
Do you ever think about
what it is like to be depressed?
Everything makes your day gray.
The thickets control everything you do.
When the thickets are gone
you feel bare,
exposed.
But now,
you can grow.
You can Be,
and the the world can see that you have your own life. Now, you
need to let God in,
let the Spirit of God
replace those things that
controlled you and kept you confined.
Growth is inevitable and
when challenges come
God is there
to take the reigns
even before you ask.
The weeds will come,
it's up to you to recognize them
and handle (weed and cut them back) before
they control you.

Nedra Groggins-Sage
Author
Over 50 Don't Mean Your're Dead: My Spiritual Journey

Much Love,
Pastor Singleton