Dethatching

Sunday 8/25/2013 5:32 AM

This year my lawn frustrates me.  I have fertilized it regularly but watering has been somewhat irregular.  Lately I have been trying to be more consistent in watering but the lawn is not turning its normal lush green, it has dead, brown spots that never seem to green up.  Friday I finally lost patience with it and scalped it by mowing it with the lowest level on my mower.  It is now completely brown but I did notice there were a number of bugs that were dislodged from their homes in the process.  I think the thickness of the thatch was keeping the water from reaching the roots and also providing sanctuary for bugs that were keeping the lawn unhealthy.  I will see if this results in a healthier, lush green lawn.

My devotional theme this week has been meditation.  The writings for the week encourage me to take time to be quiet before God, to listen and to patiently wait to see what God will say.  This kind of patient listening is something that is difficult to do in our modern, fast-paced world.  However, sometimes I think I spend too much time reading my Bible and meditating without actually doing what it is that God is telling me.  There is a sense in which I am like my lawn, overgrown with a thatch of God-knowledge so deep that the pain of the world doesn’t penetrate to my heart.  Perhaps God needs to do some scalping, dislodging the sin that lies hidden deep within the façade I show the world so his love can penetrate my heart to make me more loving toward those who need to experience it the most.