I am not much of a gardener and neither is my husband. This means the bare minimum gets done in the front and back garden until we get to the point of needing to pay someone to tackle it! With all that we have going on it really is the least of our worries.

But there is one particular bush in the front garden that sits between the driveway and the path. When it starts growing it grows on all sides. It got to the point the other day where I was so sick of being attacked by it everytime I opened the car door once parked or walking up the path that I told my husband he needs to cut it as soon as possible as I always end up doing it. With all the rain we have been having, it also means you get soaking wet trying to get in or out of the car.

He finally got the shears from the garden shed and made a start. Let me make it clear, he made a start. This means he DID NOT finish the job! Can you relate?

I had to finish the job. Typical.

As much as I am not a gardener I really do appreciate a beautiful garden and what goes in to looking after it. I wish I was green fingered or had the patience, maybe one day I will be but right now I am not keen on getting dirty or finding bugs! But whenever I am doing any gardening, it makes me reflect. I reflect on the beauty of nature, on how God created it all to work together so beautifully. And how it relates so much to how we grow and take care of ourselves.

There are many references to vines, gardens, seeds, etc in the bible. Jesus talks about being the vine and we are the branches. There is the parable of the sower and seed falling on different types of soil.

As I was cutting that bush back, I reflected that as this bush had been left to grow, to do its own thing; it had been left untended, neglected and it had begun to get in our way. It meant you had to slide your way in and out of the car, it meant you had to walk round it almost stepping onto the grass if trying to walk down the path. It also looked very messy!

I began to think how easy it is for that to happen to our lives when we neglect to take care of ourselves. How that can impact so much of what we do if you can’t see where you are going properly because the bush has grown so much that our view is obscured. How it changes our ability to do what we normally do.

This is the same when we neglect our relationship with God, our bible reading, our prayer life. And I am talking to myself in regard to this too! When left untended, neglected, the weeds can begin to take root, they can begin to wind themselves around our hearts and our thoughts. It can change the way we walk. It can make our lives look messy.

The bush in our garden had got to the point where I had just had enough, something needed to be done. Maybe today there are things in your life that have been left untended and neglected but today you have got to the point where you have just had enough. Take this as your sign to go and get those shears and start cutting back the weeds, pruning back the things that are holding you back.

When I stood back and looked at the bush after cutting it back as much as I could, it actually looked decent but more importantly it was no longer in our way! This will need to be cut regularly throughout the summer months to avoid getting out of hand. So whatever changes you need to make in your life, I pray you will be able to keep on top of them so they don’t get out of hand again.

God bless x