Late August sunshine and heat draw me out into the garden,
where I confront the overgrowth and undergrowth and weed infestations!
Yesterday I made a start on the raspberry disaster.
Usually we have an abundance of sweet berries through
July/August, but this year many of the canes were bare. Some were new-plants,
but others just didn’t seem to bear the fruit they usually do.
Having slipped a disk in my back a couple of years ago, I
have been very careful with my gardening since then, and have rather slacked
off on the weeding side. Yesterday I confronted the results.
Neglect gave rise
to a tangle of buttercups and clover which has carpeted the ground beneath the
rasp canes and no doubt leached out the nutrients. Perhaps I can blame them for
the lack of raspberry jam in the cupboards: maybe I could try making buttercup
or cloverleaf spread.
Neglect of negative seedlings in our own lives can lead to
carpets of weeds which rob us of the fruits of the Spirit God longs to give us.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control. These are attributes which are tender and need nurturing in order
to flourish in our lives. But we don’t seek patience, for instance; we seek God
and ask him to grow this fruit in us. He is the one who grows all the good
fruit in our lives.
The real culprit in lack of fruitfulness in our lives is
neglect of God. Just spending time in his presence nurtures these good traits. I know myself the impact of busyness: if I allow it to
marginalise my God-time, the colourful, juicy fruits of the Spirit are missing
from my day.
So the sun is out again: back to the raspberry patch!
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