We have a huge hill in our front yard.  When we first moved into our house 24 years ago, we still possessed the vigor of youth.  Each week my husband would get out the lawn mower and tackle that hill.  There were many times when he would sail through the job with ease, and others when I thought he’d end up in the street and get run over by a car.  The hill became a nightmare, so I took it upon myself to begin a gardening project to replace the lawn

Slowly I descended the hill with my spade in hand.  Defining spaces with perennials and rocks, bricks and stone, being careful to allow for proper drainage and erosion.

Fast forward to 2016.  The hill is now covered with flowers, succulents, Hostas, daylilies, various shrubs and ground cover.  Sweet smelling Myrtle, with it’s little purple flowers, spreading phlox of pink, white and lavender and herbs that sprout fragrance beyond compare, are all part of this giant garden. Huge thistles, dandelions and an invasive ground cover called Crown Vetch have since moved in, requiring vigilant caretaking.  It’s really quite interesting watching a 74 year old woman traversing across a hill.

Life is kind of like that garden.  We start out with goals in mind, but soon take a different path. We aren’t always sure which way to go or how to make our work easier.  The weeds of dissention, disappointment, and disheartening invade and soon we are overtaken by them.  They tug at our souls and lead us away from God.  Many of us succumb  and give up.  Some of us need more tender care and intervention.  In any event, we need someone to come in and pull out the weeds.

Jesus did that for all humanity when He shed His blood on the cross.  Every sin, every past and future wrong, every evil desire, was paid for by the Son of God.  The work has been done for us. He died so we could live and thrive in His eternal garden.  He rose from death and returned to His heavenly throne so we would know that we would never die.