Well after nine long months of winter in western PA (ok there may be some exaggeration there)… summer is finally here! I have to say that June is definitely my favorite month because there is so much excitement planting vegetable and flower seeds in the gardens and the hope of what is to sprout and bloom within the next three months.
The past few years I have taken an interest in gardening. It was something that I dabbled with for longer than that, but I decided that with the uncertainty of leadership in the world and lack of appreciation of farming in America, it was a small way that I could feel secure and provide for my family, as well as, be a healthy outlet for me. I have started to keep a garden diary to remember when I planted vegatables the previous season to prevent diseases like blight and not deplete the nutrients. The diary also helps me to know which seeds or plants worked, which ones didn’t, and what to change.
Something new this year is my introduction to voles. They have become my nemesis…to the point where they now even appear in my dreams! For those of you who do not know what a vole is, it is a critter/rodent that looks like something between a mouse and a mole…they are often called ‘field mice.’ Voles differ from moles in the way that they eat vegetation instead of grubs, so they are considered herbivores. They are the last thing that you want in your garden! I have had to learn so much about voles in the past few weeks because they have wrecked havoc on most of the roots of my vegetation. Sadly, one day I ended up in tears because I had to replant things two and three times and had to surrender the celery and carrots, and Italian herb garden that I spent so much time and energy planting.
I have been thinking how my gardening and my encounter with these demonic creatures really is comparable to the Christian walk. Christ creates something beautiful which is us and he gives us gifts and talents and wants us to thrive, but sometimes we forget to play offense against our nemesis, the Devil. We don’t even realize that we should be on guard, and only believe in playing defense after something difficult happens in our life. However the Bible tells us that we are to guard our hearts. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”-Proverbs 4:23.
Now I know that I didn’t even know what a vole was a month ago so it could be argued that I was innocent of knowing how to be on offense against them, but had I began more research when I first saw that perfectly shaped hole in the ground along the fence line and raised bed and did something about it, I wouldn’t have a completely infested garden and be 10 steps behind. It is the same way in our spiritual life. If we start to give Satan a foothold by getting a little lazy in our prayer life, or becoming undisciplined with in our mindset, he will start to run with our weaknesses. He hides in holes like those voles waiting to devour all of the beautiful roots and vegetation. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8. Satan doesn’t mind hanging out in the dark crevices in our lives waiting to wipe out the fruit that we have allowed the Lord to grow. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” -John 15:5
In my garden it’s up to me to plant on good soil, as well as fertilize, weed, and water. It’s up to me to check on my plants everyday and to make sure that if there are holes in the ground that I am fumigating them to keep the voles out and if there is brown spots on the plants, I trim the bottom branches to increase ventilation so they are not getting diseased. But what about our spiritual garden? What is going on in your spiritual life? Are you watering with the Word? Are you fertilizing with the Truth? Are you sharing your crop by witnessing? Are you harvesting with fellowship? How are you keeping the “voles” away? Are you guarding yourself and your family with the sword of the Spirit? “…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” -Eph 6:17-18. If you aren’t doing this then you should be. Otherwise we are left out in the elements (the world) and we are conformed and allowing our children to conform.
In my garden if I choose not to take care of it, the plants will start to blend in with the weeds and will be choked out by them. It is the same in our lives. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.: -Romans 12:2. We have to be set apart. We have to take care of what God gave us.
So now when you ask yourself “how am I keeping the voles away?” You can have a plan. Get that diary out! get the Word of God out! Dust off all your tools that you haven’t been using and play offense on the one who truly wants to destroy you, and then focus on the One who helps us bear fruit and vegetation and live in His abundance!
Christ’s Corner 