Written by Lynn Mosher from Heading Home
Spring has sprung! The month of May brings visions of clear skies, puffy clouds, sunshine, and, for many, plots of fertile soil for growing plants of all kinds.
Have you ever watched someone take care of a garden? A gardener is one who loves to see things grow, so he or she incorporates all the necessary elements for planting seeds, like planting for the best sun, providing water, critter repellent, bug spray, and tossing in some fertilizer and plant food, all in order to have strong, healthy plants.
No matter what size the garden, whether it’s a pot on the balcony, a small plot in the backyard, or a farm-size field, the harvest depends on the choice of seeds. And after the proper care, in time, the fruits of one’s labor, the product of what one has sown, will be evident.
One of the most important things a gardener can do is…weed! If a gardener does not remove the weeds, all his or her efforts to produce a great harvest will be dashed, for the weeds will choke out and kill the desired growing plants.
So, what does this have to do with you? Well, I’ll tell you. Here’s the comparison: Your everyday life is your garden. Your emotions are planted here. If you don’t keep them in check, they will grow and rule your life, just like the weeds, eventually becoming a threat to your life.
Keeping those emotions weed-free is up to you and no one else. What you sow is what you will reap, as the Bible says, “For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.” (Gal. 6:7 AMP) This does not apply merely to physical gardens but to emotional gardens as well.
So, you have a choice: you can either grow beautiful, fragrant blossoms or nasty stink weeds in your emotions.
Solomon warned, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” (Prov. 4:23 NKJV) Another version says, “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.” (NCV)
What you think becomes what you say and how you react to things, so if you dwell on negative thoughts, they become negative words and emotions, which become negative actions and will become negative habits.
If you allow your negative thoughts, as seeds, to take root, they will cause your emotions to grow in that direction. Do you say the same old negative things to yourself, keeping yourself bound by your own words and feelings?
If you live by your feelings, it is like constantly beating yourself up. You will always end up black and blue emotionally, making yourself a victim of your own doing.
If you drag all this baggage around with you every day, it’s like pulling them as dead weight behind you in a little red wagon or maybe in a U-haul. Your life cannot take this self- abuse.
Whatever your negative emotions…anger, self-pity, grief, depression, unforgiveness, bitterness, doubt, shame, insecurity…all these stand in the way of living a normal, healthy life. They restrain us from having that special relationship with the Lord.
So….how do you fix it? You start by filling your mind with positive thoughts, which will produce positive words, then positive emotions, and then positive actions. When you begin to state the positive, especially the promises of God’s Word, you can move on to the good things God has in store for your life.The apostle Paul said, “So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit.” (Gal. 6:9 Msg)
What emotions will you plant in your life’s garden today? Will you plant nasty, stink weeds or beautiful, fragrant blossoms of good things?
Robert Louis Stevenson once said, “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.” So, plant those good seeds not only in your thoughts, words, and deeds but also in your emotions.
~~Blessings, Lynn~~
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From Heading Home
