Aeration

Wednesday 8/8/2012 5:11 AM

My lawn is made of Bermuda grass.  It is very invasive and is known by some as devil grass because of its tendency to take over any lawn in which it establishes a foothold.  While it is difficult to keep the grass from invading my flowerbeds I love it because it is hard to kill and it can be cut to make it look like a carpet or a putting green.  During the winter it goes dormant above the ground, turning brown during cold weather and short days, but the tubers under the ground continue to grow providing healthy roots during its resurgence in the spring.

During the growing season I water and fertilize it regularly and cut it at least once per week to maintain the pristine look I like.  Over time the grass builds up a thick thatch that needs to be stripped off and I also spend time walking on the lawn with spiked shoes to aerate the soil.  Over time the spiked shoes are no longer effective because of the thinness of the spikes and then I aerate it by removing a core of soil and grass, allowing the water and nutrients to reach the roots and providing space underground for the roots to grow.  This process leaves cores of soil littering my lawn like little turds and often brings comments from my family and neighbors about how I have ruined my beautiful lawn.  If I didn’t aerate my lawn it would grow so thick that the water and nutrients needed for healthy growth would be unable to reach the roots, causing it to die.  In the long run, a temporary setback leads to a prolonged benefit.

This morning I wondered if God sees my life like I see my lawn.  God regularly cares for me like I water and fertilize my lawn.  He sends his Spirit to mold me into the image of Christ, cutting away the things that are not needed and giving special care to the areas that detract.  Eventually my life begins to show the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.  Unfortunately, I soon become consumed with maintaining the image of a good Christian so I attend church regularly, join or possibly lead a Bible study, become an elder or deacon in the church, go on mission trips, participate in service projects, and so on.  Eventually I become so busy doing things for God that I no longer have time to cultivate my relationship with God and those things that others see as good, Christian activity become thatch that cuts off the nourishing care that God regularly provides for my growth.  Then God, the ever-vigilant gardener, takes out his aerator and pokes holes in the thatch of my life.  From my perspective and to those around me my façade is broken and my life is littered with the debris of my pride.  From God’s perspective he is making my life a more vibrant witness that is more deeply rooted in him.

In her book Words to Love By, Mother Teresa says it this way, “Suffering – pain, humiliation, sickness and failure – is but a kiss of Jesus.”  Proverbs 3:11-12 describes it like this, “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”  I usually become discouraged when my life doesn’t seem to be going the way I want it to go.  Perhaps God is poking holes in my pride making room for further growth.