Laura pulled her sleeves back and set to work in her yard, determined that she would get rid of the weeds. She wanted a well-kept garden desperately, but right now, it looked more like a garden of dandelions and crab grass. No more! This garden was going to get in shape.

Hours later, Laura dragged herself back into the house, satisfied with a job well done. The area where dandelions used to reign was now mainly just overturned soil—weed-free at last.

A couple of weeks later Laura could hardly believe her eyes. She’d been busy doing things inside the house and hadn’t checked on the garden in a few weeks. It was completely overgrown yet again! How did this happen?

Once again, Laura set to work. She yanked everything out of the ground. There was not a plant standing when she finished.

Yet, within a few weeks, the weeds just grew back, even bigger and stronger than ever it seemed. Laura was getting discouraged. What was she doing wrong?

One day she mentioned her dilemma to her neighbor, an older, wiser gardener named Phoebe. “I just don’t know what to do! Why do these weeds keep coming back?”

“My dear girl,” Phoebe replied. “Have you been planting good plants in their place?”

The question might sound like a rhetorical one, but it wasn’t. Laura hadn’t been planting anything in the garden at all—she’d just been trying to remove the weeds and hoping good plants would grow on their own…or at least that it would stay weed-free.

Seeing the look on Laura’s face, Phoebe continued to explain, “You have to plant good plants in the garden, so there’s no room for the weeds to grow. And you’ll want to nurture those plants and watch for weeds sneaking through, pulling them before they multiply. Don’t despair, child. You can have a beautiful garden yet!

How about we work on getting some good plants planted?”

- Unknown

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To Ponder:

If we want to get rid of sin in our lives, we not only need to get it out of our lives, but we also need to “bring in” Christ Jesus. Turn away from sin and move toward the Savior. Actively pursue Him. Make decisions to watch, read, spend your time, etc., in ways that promote His Fruit growing in your life.

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…throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.   Ephesians 4:22-24 NLT

Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. Romans 13:14 NLT

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

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If you liked this story and would like a copy of either of my books,
they are available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle format:

If you have a story or testimony that you think might bless others,
I invite you to send it by email to me (Kenneth Kersey) at godsotherways@me.com.

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