Weed Cloth

It’s late April, time to get the summer garden growing. I get the tiller out again and all the fencing and begin to tear up new ground. It doesn’t take long before my hands and shoulders hurt. I call in help, but he is not Nick. All this tilling, all this hard labor, Nick did all this. Suddenly, it is all beyond my ability. I lay on my back on the ground and cry. Take me now, Lord, it is too much. I can sense His gentle smile: silly child, you can do this; look at the sugar snaps growing. And rising, I look at the growing garden, and get back to work.

The sugar snaps are growing. The tilling and fencing and planting involved have produced growing plants. Surely, if I can grow sugar snaps from seeds, I can grow tomatoes and cucumbers and peppers from starter plants. Right?

His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” Matthew 25:23

And I’ve learned something about myself. I don’t like to weed. I yank out weeds, dig them up, and the next day they reappear. Looking at my pretty sugar snaps, I see weeds all around them.

Nick didn’t like to weed either. We designed our garden specifically to take advantage of a wonderful garden product – weed barrier cloth. Weed cloth is 3-4 feet wide and covers the tilled ground, suppressing the unwanted plant’s access to sunlight and air. Basically, the cloth prevents the weeds from ever gaining purchase in my garden. And preventing a weed from growing is far easier than pulling it once it’s grown.

I wonder if I could do this in my life. I can’t stop weeds from sprouting; I can’t stop negative unholy thoughts from springing up unwanted. But I can deprive them of sunlight and air. I can prevent them from ever gaining purchase in my life. All I need is a layer of protection.

Isn’t that what just happened? When the task seemed overwhelming, when the wave of self pity and grief overtook me, I cried out to God. I lifted my eyes and saw the sugar snaps, green and growing. God has been faithful in the past, rewarding my efforts; God will be faithful in the future.

Those sugar snap plants, the evidence of God’s faithfulness, encourage me, literally instill me with courage. I can do this; with God’s help, I can do this. I pray for strength and help. I remember Paul’s words to Timothy.

For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

And that is my weed cloth. It is the Holy Spirit reminding me of all that God has done for me, for people I know, and for generations before me. It is recalling the stories of God’s faithful love as recounted in the Bible and in thousands of years of testimony. I can read any of a million books of other’s stories; I can recall my own story. As I lift my eyes from my present troubles, I see those sugar snaps, green and growing.

I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your deeds of old. Psalm 77:11

Today, I till up more ground, put more fencing, and lay weed barrier cloth the length of the garden. It is a lot of work, but past gardens encourage me. Victory is within reach.

Betsy

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I appreciate your encouragement. Thank you for following this blog and sharing it with others. Enjoy the Spring!

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 32:1