Maintaining a Well-Manicured Lawn [God’s Way]

Have you ever noticed some plants are harder to mow than others? They just don’t cut easily, especially when they are allowed to grow a little longer … or when the mower blades are dull … or when I drive too fast.

This happened to me a couple weeks ago.

It required several passes over some patches before the lawn looked sufficiently manicured. I finally finished, rather frustrated, vowing never to let the grass get so tall again and beseeching my mower-maintaining husband to sharpen the mower blades.

However, it won’t be long before this scenario is repeated. The lawn will continue to grow—and get away from me, rarely will I mow at the most opportune time, and sharp blades won’t compensate for everything, like poor mowing habits.

Conquering sinful habits (my critical nature, for instance) is somewhat like my mowing problem. They are not easy to control, and the problems don’t just go away:

No matter how many vows I make, I keep slipping back into those familiar habits.

No matter how good my intentions are, time slips away, and I don’t “mow” soon enough.

No matter how often the “blades” are sharpened, if I drive too fast, the patches remain stubbornly tall.

Many times in the past (and some instances in the present), I’ve felt like a failure as those annoying human habits I’m trying to wipe out resurface again and again. Anybody with me here?

I try hard—I really do. I have good intentions. I do all the right things. What gives?

Me! That’s what.

It’s taken years to realize, I can do little good that will stick by my own strength. My will, my intentions, my efforts aren’t enough.

Paul encourages us that we can

“do all things through Him who strengthens” (Philippians 4:13 HCSB, emphasis mine).

Did you get that? Through Him! Not on my mine. Not by my own efforts. Not because I want to badly enough.

It is easy for me to leave the Lord out, or at least, to regulate Him to a secondary support system: If I fail, I’ll pull in my backup. That mindset is a recipe for frustration.

There are several practical actions I can incorporate in order to keep the grass of my life from getting out of control and becoming unseemly:

• I can replace each bad habit with an alternative.
• I can slow down as hyper-speed allows no opportunity to assess the cause of the problem.
• I can be timely and persistent in my mowing as intentional, regular mowings are essential to a well-manicured (never perfect) life.
• I can be realistic as there is only One perfect, and it is not me, nor you.

But most importantly, I can cultivate the habit of keeping the blades (tools) sharpened and the lawnmower properly serviced by being daily in Word and prayer.  The Lord will help, but not if I shut Him out.

Hmm, better yet, maybe I’ll just let Him be the driver in the first place …

Are you with me?

“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness” (1 Peter 1:3 HCSB).

Share in the Discussion: What is keeping you from having a well-manicured lawn of life? Have you let the Lord be your driver?

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By His grace ≈

Julie