Lawn Lessons

Some time ago, a young couple in the Church we attended purchased a house. Everything about this house was brand new so, one of their first projects was to landscape. Beginning with the basics, they decided to plant a lawn. They asked questions, did research and concluded that the soil had to be prepared. Rice hulls were recommended to aerate and enrich the earth. They purchased several bags of rice hulls which they laboriously worked into the ground, then leveled and smoothed the surface.

The next step was to sow grass seed. They were careful to spread it liberally and evenly. Then a watering schedule was set up to keep the soil just the right dampness. The final step was to sit back in anticipation and watch the grass grow.

Being a new experience for them, you can imagine their joy at seeing the first specks of green dotting the rich brown earth. They’re excitement increased as the new blades spread and thickened. However, as time passed, joy turned to horror as the “grass” grew taller, and taller, and taller!

Unfortunately, whoever recommended using rice hulls neglected to mention that they should be sterile. Our friends discovered that, along with grass, they had a foot-high rice paddy in their front yard!

It’s interesting how much rice looks like grass when it begins to grow. At first, you can’t tell the difference, but rice grows faster, taller, thicker and more coarse than the tender, soft grass.

Now what to do? The only solution was to pull it out, blade by blade. A huge task for two people. They presented their dilemma to the Church members, and several of us volunteered to help. We met at the Church on a designated day and carpooled to our friend’s house.

When we arrived at our destination, it was amusing to see the lovely, green, foot-long rice, which, at this stage, looked like regular grass on steroids! We were excited to be together and eager to accomplish our goal. After all, the yard wasn’t that big, we would finish in no time. Spreading around the edge of the “paddy”, we got down on our hands and knees and began pulling rice blades. We pulled and pulled!

The ground was soft and wet. It seemed nice, at first. However, after what seemed like hours, it became obvious our enthusiasm was dissipating. We were muddy, wet and tired. From our hands-and-knees vantage point, all we could see in front of us was, what seemed like, “never-ending acres” of rice. No matter how long we picked, the view never changed. There was always a solid wall of green before our eyes! We were beginning to grumble and complain. Occasionally, someone would give up and go home. Others, not anticipating how long it would take, had made other plans and had to leave. Most of us stayed, determined to reach our goal. With each other’s encouragement and provocation, we continued.

As the day wore on, I became weary, discouraged and ready to quit. I sat down to rest, turning my back to the green “wall,” and looked in the direction from where I started. It’s difficult to describe the feelings of awe and wonder that swept over me as my eyes suddenly beheld several yards of the most beautiful, lush, green, “perfect” lawn I had ever seen. I had no idea what was hidden below that rice! Encouraged, I called out to my fellow laborers to look behind them to see how far we had come. With renewed strength and enthusiasm, we went on to finish our project. When we left that evening, we felt a sense of accomplishment and our friends had their lawn.

With the bulk of the weeds out of the way, the lawn grew and flourished. It still needs to be fed, watered, trimmed, and weeded but routine, consistent maintenance makes light work. Now, years later, it continues to be a source of pleasure and beauty to all concerned.

This experience taught me much about the Christian walk. When we first come to know the Lord, He prepares the soil of our hearts. We plant the good seed of God’s Word. We water the soil with the Holy Spirit. But there are still weeds in the soil, some from our past, some we pick up along the way. As the rice first appeared to be grass, so spiritual “weeds” can appear to be the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but when they grow and develop, we discern they are the result of the carnal nature. For instance, when we do a good deed for the wrong reason, such as self-recognition instead of to glorify God.

Weeds grow quickly and can easily take over. Sometimes all we can see are the “weeds” in our lives. There are so many faults, sins and shortcomings! It seems like a never ending battle with little progress being made. Pulling weeds can be a tiring and discouraging task both naturally and spiritually. As soon as we get them pulled, others seem to spring up to replace them. We see friends become discouraged and give up. Sometimes we’re tempted to do the same.

Occasionally, we need to look back and see how far we’ve come so we can encourage and provoke each other to continue onward. Persistent, diligent care lightens the load. We’ve come so far, don’t stop now! Continue studying the Bible (planting good seed), praying and walking in the Spirit (watering), and denying the flesh (pulling those weeds). God is growing a wonderful crop. The rewards are great. In this case, the grass really is greener on the other side!

Galatians 6:9 And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.