Start Somewhere
The other day I walked outside my front door to head to work. It was a beautiful, warm morning, which is something I enjoy and cherish very much. I had coffee already, a good breakfast, and the weather was ideal for my liking.
Every day for the last several months I would leave my house seeing weeds growing on my porch. My thought was always, “I really have to do something about these weeds.” I would see them, and eventually had to literally step over them because they had gotten so big. It had reached the point where if I was not careful, they would poke me with their thorns. I was running out of sidewalk to walk on.
These weeds didn’t look like normal weeds. Some of them looked like bushes with fully bloomed leaves that were actually very pretty. But despite their attractive appearance, they were still weeds. And we all know… weeds are weeds.
So this particular day, I walked outside, stepped around them and walked to my car. Then this thought came to me, “These weeds are starting to look like your heart.”
“What? Where did that thought come from? My heart is fine,” I thought.
I couldn’t figure out where that thought came from, but I came the conclusion that it had to be God sharing this image with me. I thought about it the entire day.
What things are there in my heart that are weeds?
Well, I knew what I had to do. I needed to clean up the weeds. Maybe then, God would show me what the “weeds” in my heart are. So that week, I went out and got all the supplies I thought I would need to get rid of these weeds in front of my house.
Over the next several days, I took the evenings to begin to tear down the weeds. It was hard work! I had cutting sheers, weed & brush killer, a rake, and good music blasting through the stereo.
A week later, with only a small portion of the weeds removed, I stepped outside on my porch like I normally do every weekday. I saw a truck parked outside. It was a man from my church and his lawn company. They said they were going to clean up the yards, and he motioned where he was going to work. He never once pointed to my house, but I wasn’t expecting him to.
After I got home from work that day, my yard was completely clean! There was not one weed in sight! I walked over to the guys and asked, “Did you guys clean up my yard?”
They smiled and said yes.
I was so thankful! I couldn’t believe they had gotten all that work done in just a couple of hours when I had spent several nights that week trying to clean up and it seemed as if I hadn’t made a dent.
I walked into my house and was overwhelmed with joy.
In that moment, I felt like God said to me, “I just wanted you to start.”
It’s amazing what happens when we just start somewhere.
It’s amazing what happens when we make a little effort.
God doesn’t want us to do all the work. He just wants us to make those small steps.
Isaiah 58:11 – “The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.”
I read this verse, and it got me thinking that maybe this is what God was referring to with my heart. I’ve felt spiritually dry. I’ve felt like I don’t have the strength anymore to fight the same battles over and over.
He also showed me through these guys that cleaned the yard that we don’t have the power to do everything by ourselves. These guys had machines that plowed up the weeds in one sweep. When I told him I had used small cutting sheers for the big weeds that had basically swallowed up my house, he laughed! He said, “Oh no, that would have taken you forever. We have machines that take down those weeds. But either way, it’s a lot of work for just one person.”
Sometimes we look at these large weeds in our life and think, “How am I supposed to handle that? I don’t have enough strength to take that down by myself.” You’re right, you don’t. God has the power to change lives. God has the power to heal hearts and clean up the weeds of our life. But he needs us to be willing to start somewhere.
Where in your life do you need to “start somewhere”?
Every day for the last several months I would leave my house seeing weeds growing on my porch. My thought was always, “I really have to do something about these weeds.” I would see them, and eventually had to literally step over them because they had gotten so big. It had reached the point where if I was not careful, they would poke me with their thorns. I was running out of sidewalk to walk on.
These weeds didn’t look like normal weeds. Some of them looked like bushes with fully bloomed leaves that were actually very pretty. But despite their attractive appearance, they were still weeds. And we all know… weeds are weeds.
So this particular day, I walked outside, stepped around them and walked to my car. Then this thought came to me, “These weeds are starting to look like your heart.”
“What? Where did that thought come from? My heart is fine,” I thought.
I couldn’t figure out where that thought came from, but I came the conclusion that it had to be God sharing this image with me. I thought about it the entire day.
What things are there in my heart that are weeds?
Well, I knew what I had to do. I needed to clean up the weeds. Maybe then, God would show me what the “weeds” in my heart are. So that week, I went out and got all the supplies I thought I would need to get rid of these weeds in front of my house.
Over the next several days, I took the evenings to begin to tear down the weeds. It was hard work! I had cutting sheers, weed & brush killer, a rake, and good music blasting through the stereo.
A week later, with only a small portion of the weeds removed, I stepped outside on my porch like I normally do every weekday. I saw a truck parked outside. It was a man from my church and his lawn company. They said they were going to clean up the yards, and he motioned where he was going to work. He never once pointed to my house, but I wasn’t expecting him to.
After I got home from work that day, my yard was completely clean! There was not one weed in sight! I walked over to the guys and asked, “Did you guys clean up my yard?”
They smiled and said yes.
I was so thankful! I couldn’t believe they had gotten all that work done in just a couple of hours when I had spent several nights that week trying to clean up and it seemed as if I hadn’t made a dent.
I walked into my house and was overwhelmed with joy.
In that moment, I felt like God said to me, “I just wanted you to start.”
It’s amazing what happens when we just start somewhere.
It’s amazing what happens when we make a little effort.
God doesn’t want us to do all the work. He just wants us to make those small steps.
Isaiah 58:11 – “The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.”
I read this verse, and it got me thinking that maybe this is what God was referring to with my heart. I’ve felt spiritually dry. I’ve felt like I don’t have the strength anymore to fight the same battles over and over.
He also showed me through these guys that cleaned the yard that we don’t have the power to do everything by ourselves. These guys had machines that plowed up the weeds in one sweep. When I told him I had used small cutting sheers for the big weeds that had basically swallowed up my house, he laughed! He said, “Oh no, that would have taken you forever. We have machines that take down those weeds. But either way, it’s a lot of work for just one person.”
Sometimes we look at these large weeds in our life and think, “How am I supposed to handle that? I don’t have enough strength to take that down by myself.” You’re right, you don’t. God has the power to change lives. God has the power to heal hearts and clean up the weeds of our life. But he needs us to be willing to start somewhere.
Where in your life do you need to “start somewhere”?
Meet Amber Miyasato
Amber Miyasato has been on staff at Hillcrest Church for three years. She is the Operations Director, which means she oversees all media, promotion, office, and century projects. Some of the things she enjoys are graphic design and Crossfit (Crossfit Seven Cities). She loves to write and be creative in several different aspects. Her goal in life is to constantly grow in all areas so she can best reflect who Jesus is.
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