Getting rid of "the weeds"

Have you ever thought why God allow bad things happen in your life? Or maybe you maybe wondering, you have done all you can to follow His command, yet you find yourself caught in bad situations or worse, God let you fall even if He has the power to change it. Why would He do that?

So today I was doing some cleaning of my yard. As you may have known,i have just moved to my newly mortgaged house. I dont have a big garden, its only about 3x4 m garden. im neither a typical nature lover nor flowers lover, thats why since i moved, my garden has been left as it is. I have moved for about 1.5 weeks now and guess what, weeds was growing along with flowers ( the seeds were sown by the builder).  After work, i couldnt stand it anymore, so i ended up pulling out all the weeds. As i was pulling iT, an inspiration comes into my mind and this is why im sharing it now.

we are like the garden. we were born as sinners. ROMANS 3:23 says that for all have fallen short of glory of God. In us, there are "weeds". In order for us to be like Jesus, we need to get rid of the roots of siN. This is represented by the weeds in the garden.

It was so hard to get rid of them. GOSHH... My hand hurts so much just to pull them out. It looks okay from the top, but when i pulled them, the root was actually quite deep and tangled underneath along the ground. As a result i had to dig the ground a little bit with my hands.

Similarly, God wants to plant good seeds in our heart, but there is no space because there are "weeds" all around our heart. Of cos there are good plants but the good plants will only grow so much bcos the weeds will grow quickly. Also, it is easy if God wants to get rid of the weeds on the surface, we can even do that ourselves. In fact we do that all the time ,we behave differently when we are with friends and when there is no one. We behave differently between two different groups of friends. but to be trully pure, we need to get rid of the "roots". The process itself is painful. It was  "painful" for both the ground and me when i was pulling out the weeds. It was "painful" for the ground cos i had to dig it so the surface was not smooth anymore, and my hand was painful too. Similarly, it is painful when we are purified. We had to face many trials that shape us, we might have to sacrifice our comfort zone and willing to be shaped by God. Let me give u my own testimony. I came from painful breakups. My past relationships werent pure. therefore in order for God to heal me and let me refocus back to the right source of love, He had to allow me to face a period of time when I am totally free from relationships and guy. In fact,it has been 3 years since i last dated and the road has not always been smooth. I felt lonely, i felt not fair, etc ( i guess some of u know how it feels), and there was so many time i wonder when i can meet my future husband. Yet God didnt give me what i wish and He has been allowing me to face this "loneliness". It is painful, but it is part of the process to get rid of the bad "roots". i have to be shaped to be the person i was intended to be. Even though now im still suffering, yet i no longer focus on the process, rather im focusing on the outcome anD His promises. He has promised that He will uphold me and blessed me with His riches. That is why i can be confident in Him.

Coming back to the "hands" part, my hands were painful when i was pulling the weeds. Similarly, God has to feel the "pain" to save us. He gave His only son as the price to pay our sins. His pain is beyond what I can describe here. His sacrifice is much more than what my illustration can picture.

So whats next?
It takes time to plant a flower. i have gotten rid of the weeds ,but i need to give good care if i want to plant a flower. I need to water it, to put the seed on the right spot. It needs good sunlight, not too hot to grow. And obviously, it takes time to grow.
Similarly, we need to ground ourselves with the words (seeds) and "water"( by contemplating it) everyday to let good plant grow. This does not happen straight away but it needs time and extra care. that is why it is so important to read His word, think about it day and night plus prayers. These are the ingredients to grow spiritually.

The danger :
weeds grows easily. In fact i dont even need to sow any seeds to let it grow. it also grows very fast. Look, i just move not even 2 weeks and it took me so much effort to get rid of the weeds.
Similarly, it is so easy to fall into temptation and our past lives. That is why we need to always be alert and not let there be any space for the weeds to grow. we might fall again, that is natural, but more importantly is that we dont let the weeds stay too long in our lives. If the weeds is still young, it can be easily gotten rid of, and no much digging is needed. But if it stays longer, then the root will go deeper and deeper, and thats when digging is needed, which also means that it will cost pain.

God is not cruel when He allows us to feel pain
He is not mean when we have to suffer
He is not abandoning us when we are hurting
He is just doing what is necessary to help us grow spiritually
He is helping us to get rid of the bad roots
He is teaching us to know how dangerous it is to allow sin be rooted in our heart

We all have our own weeds
Whether it is long rooted weeds or short rooted, always know that God is able to clean them
We might hurt a little or maybe more but trust that God's plans are always the best and for our good
Recognize your weeds by dwelling on His words and praying that God shows them to you
Once known, ask Him to help you get rid of theM

Gloria

Orange girl :)

Just to show u some pictures of my digging