the dirt

I spent part of the last week in Haiti. And I will most definitely be sharing more in the future about our time there (including images).

But for today, I wanted to be real for a minute with you.

Before I left for the trip.. I wasn’t in the best place.

I was TIRED. Worn. Apathetic. Lonely. And WAY too busy.

I was having way too many unglued moments. No lie, I actually had a freak out in the Target parking lot the day before my trip. I had decided to “quickly” run in to Target to grab a few last minute things before we had to go. I had all of the children. And all three were in a rare, crazy, like I wanted to disown them mood. They were jumping off of the cart, hiding from me in the store, crying and whining. I got to the car, finally got them all contained and strapped in, and loaded the groceries. I plopped in the front seat, counted to three, and screamed. A super loud, all-I-had scream. I think I terrified my kids by the look on their faces. Then we all broke out in to nervous laughter.  While that moment wasn’t my finest mommy moment, it did help me realize that I was exhausted.

Once again, I was busy with the world’s distractions and my focus had gone off of Him.

Isn’t it funny how the Lord’s timing is just so perfect? He know what we need, and when we need it.

I needed that trip to Haiti.

One of my favorite things to do there is to sneak out of bed and head to the roof to watch the sunrise. It is literally one of my best places to be in the world. The warmth of the sun hits my face and I feel warmed from the inside out.

As I was sitting there one of the mornings last week, I came across these verses in my reading…

Mark 4:18-20 MSG

“The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it. But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.”

Whoa. Talk about a reality check. That was my life lately. No wonder the thoughts in my head, the things coming out of my mouth, and my emotional state wasn’t so pretty. My dirt was FULL of weeds (distractions).

And because God loves to give us visuals…I looked down to the ground and spotted this.. a rocky, course soil. Any seed cast in that will have a hard time growing.

Is this like my life? Am I so overwhelmed with what I have to do, with social media, with my business, with myself that I am putting all of these weeds in my soil? Not only that… I am not taking the time that I need to nourish my soil with living water? If I am not spending time in the light, how will those seeds ever produce fruit?

I have to realize that when I allow the world to distract me and I neglect my relationship with my Heavenly Father… my growth suffers.

I loved how God laid it out so clearly for me that morning.

I hope that it encourages you today as well. Take care of your dirt, make it a priority.  So that God can use you to produce more fruit than you could ever imagine!