The Forest Floor

My Lord has given me a forest to tend.

It's a secret garden type of forest and I have loads of fun working in it! It seems as though there is more dead wood than live wood there. My young son and I laughingly refer to it as "dead wood forest". But then we tell our selves that we must think positively and believe for the good wood.

Every time I'm working out there, I feel an excitement in my spirit, soul and body. (Until the next day when I'm teeeeribly sore!) I pull down strong, dead branches out of the tree limbs. They have been trapped there for years and years. Sometimes I have to pull REALLY hard before that death looses its hold and then the branch comes crashing down as I tuck my head and laugh. The whole tree is shaken and sometimes other dead branches that were trapped there come crashing down too.

Fun!

Then there are the vines. Vines, vines, vines. They are long, overgrown, bossy vines that tangle and choke the tress and bushes. You can hardly tell the tree from the vine! Although the vines are lighter and never come crashing down, they take even more work because they twist and turn and go all through the trees. They want to become a part of the tree. I pull, pull, pull, and then SNAP! The tree is free!

It is incredibly rewarding work.

Then there's dry, dry, doubly dead branches that are ALL OVER the ground. They have to be collected, too and cast into the fire. You can hardly walk through the forest as long as they are lying around.

Then finally, I rake up all the small branches, bark, twigs, leaves, dead grass, weeds and trash. Ah-h-h-h. The forest is clean from top to bottom!

Now you probably have guessed that the Lord has spoken to me through my work and perhaps HE has already spoken to you, too. Mainly- dead works have to go! They are worth nothing. They weigh on us and the good life that God wants us to have. When the dead works are moved out of the way, the good life can flourish.

The little twisty vines that strangle our life in Christ have got to go, too. They are not so noticeable all the time but they are there. They quietly do their spoiling work and they must be pulled down. Our life needs to be exchanged for HIS.

Then there's the obvious useless, stumbling logs that are in our path or maybe our eye... Yup! Gotta go!
Finally- He wants to plow, and cleanse us down to our very depths so that new life can spring up EVERY WHERE! He wants HIS fresh and invigorating life to flow through every part of our being! He wants us FULL of HIS life - full of HIM with nothing hindering!! Life is so much better than death!

I want to totally yield myself to HIM today and let HIM tend to me; to thoroughly purge me right down to the forest floor.
If you also want this, I must prepare you, you will be shaken but it will be GOOD!