My front yard used to have some grass. When we first moved in, the builders had seeded with cheap grass just to keep the soil from washing away. The intention was that they would come back after the construction was done, rip out the temporary ground cover and start a new, healthy lawn.
They haven’t been back. And now, the lawn that used to have some grass is all clover. Huge swaths of it, overgrowing and choking everything else out.
They say that when you’re “in clover,” you’re living a casual, carefree life. No worries.
Ha.
I’m living in clover right now. But like the stuff that’s covering my lawn, it’s overgrowing and choking out everything else. I’m discovering that the law of sowing and reaping doesn’t fail. The problem is you can’t always tell what seeds you’ve sown or when they’re going to germinate.
“You’re as bad as the worst of them, Judah.You’ve been sowing wild oats. Now it’s harvest time.” (Hosea 6:11, MSG)
I’m dealing with a situation right now that is of my own creation. The seeds of this situation were planted several years ago, though, and just when I thought I was finally digging out of the mess I created, another crop of clover sprang up. It must have been quietly dormant, waiting for just the right combination of rain and sun and warmth to burst out onto my life.
It’s time for some weed killer. This particular strain of clover is fairly resistant, but if I persist and don’t give in, I think I can tackle it. I just hope that I can get in there and do it before it overgrows my whole lawn and chokes out any hope of repairing it. Because otherwise, the only solution is to strip the whole thing to bare earth and start again. A prospect, frankly, that doesn’t thrill me much.
I do find hope in another verse of scripture, though:
Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. (Psalms 126:5, NLT)
I’m reaping (and I now realize I will probably continue to reap) the crops that I’d been sowing for many years. But I’m also planting new seeds amidst the tears that I’m pouring out, and I can be comforted by knowing that eventually—inevitably—God will bring a better harvest, a joyful harvest, when the seeds begin to germinate and flourish. It may be a long time before that happens. Some crops can take many years before they begin to grow. But I’m leaning on God’s promise. He is in my future, and He has a perfect plan for it.
Photo Credits: Clover by elpono_nj, 9/25/06
Print This Post
