Devotionals

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True change has to come from the inside out. Some changes will be outward, but true change has to come from your heart, or it will never take root and never flourish. There are a lot of steps to rid your life of all the rocks, dead roots, and hard spots so that true transformation can enter.

Have you ever planted grass? I just did last spring, what a job. My arms hurt for days and my back was sore. If you want it to come out beautiful, you have to first till the ground – breaking up all the old roots, loosen the rocks, and get some oxygen into the soil that has been packed down for years. Then, on your hands and knees, pick out the rocks – leave the worms – pull out the roots, break up the big chunks of hard soil. I had to get my husband to help me with the really heavy rock and deep roots. It is important to fertilize – I use the stinky manure because it is the best, and free. Water it and be sure it seeps in. It must be tilled again to mix up the fertilizer with the “clean†dirt. Depending on where you live, you should add lime to the dirt, it will help fight off acidity in your lawn and help beautify your grass. Now that the dirt is all tilled up it needs to be flattened out. You need to iron-rake it to make sure it is flat and level with the rest of the yard, rake it again lightly to get the rough stuff off, like smaller rocks and roots. Walk across it, patting it down as much as you can, so the soil does not wash away when you water it, and you will water it…a lot, especially in the summer. Now it is time to spread the grass seed, finally. After our grass took root and started to grow I noticed that some places the grass did not “take†or the seeds did not get a chance to take root. I repeated the steps, on a much smaller scale, and filled in the missing patches. Neighbors would walk by and comment on how beautiful everything looks. I get a sense of pride when I look at my lawn and see a job well-done.

Now that you all have green thumbs and can start your own grass planting business, you may be wondering what this has to do with Christianity. To aerate your heart and really get the soul ready for the Holy Spirit, you will have some work to do and a lot of the work has to come from you, though Christ is right there to help you along. Sometimes, you have to fall to your knees and pick the things out one by one, and sometimes, it takes more work and may need to ask someone for help, sometimes it is through fellowship with others that you find is the only way to rid your life of huge burdens and deep hurts. The Holy Spirit is willing to come in and help clean your soul out; he will be the neutralizer of the acids that are harming you. HE will also be your fertilizer that will help your beauty shine for Christ. But as the old saying goes, “into every life a little rain must fallâ€. Instead of looking at the rain as a bad thing, think of it as a growing experience. We are not put on this earth to just be seeds; we are here to be the personification of Christ. We need to experience the “rain†and the storms so we can take root in the Holy Spirit and grow to be beautiful in the eyes of the Lord. My prayer for my spiritual life is that people would see the Holy Spirit at work my life and comment on how beautiful Christ is in me. I am a work in progress and I know I need a lot more “rain†and daily fertilization from the Holy Spirit to become the woman of God that I want to be.

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