I have found it challenging this summer to keep my plants alive. I do not remember a summer so hot and dry, and it has been problematic for beautiful, flourishing plants. I have to admit, it isn’t just environmental conditions that are to blame for my struggling plants. Some days I have been too tired to water. Some days I have been too busy, and some days I simply forget.
When I have not consistently watered my plants, pruned them, and removed the debris collected from blowing winds and storms, the neglect presents itself fairly quickly. They lose color, droop, shrivel up, and quickly begin to look dead. The result is they reflect very little of the artistry that is inherent to them.
I am always amazed that despite how desperate and lifeless they can become, returning to consistent watering quickly restores them to their natural beauty.
Last night as I was struggling with the tedious task of watering it occurred to me that like my plants, my soul is a garden, too. It needs constant attention, nourishment, pruning and debris removal. Without it I also become spiritless, worn out, and my life becomes more reflective of my dying flesh than the good and right image I was created in.
There is good news and bad news when it comes to maintaining both my plants my soul. They are not efficient jobs, but they are very effective.
That is the presenting problem today, though. Our world thrives on efficiency. We are oversaturated with to do lists; commitments and days planned so tightly; there is no white space on the calendar. As the scorching sun shrivels plants, stretched schedules suffocate souls.
When I am too busy, I am not available to God. Unavailability for God shifts obedience from Him to me. When I am operating out of obedience to self, I have little need for a Savior. Without a Savior, I am simply a dying plant starving for living water.