I discovered this squash on my daily garden check. It had to be thrown in the trash.
I check on my little garden everyday. There are usually a few tomatoes and okra to be harvested and sometimes some squash. Yesterday, I discovered this unfortunate squash. Something had burrowed into it and it was rotting rather quickly. I hate to throw out something that I have taken the time to nurture and grow.
But, if I leave something rotting, hanging on the vine next to healthy fruit and vegetables, it will draw more pests, putting my entire little crop in danger. That little squash stayed in my thoughts and made me think about how our lives can have similar issues.
We can be cruising along, minding our own business, when something unexpected happens to us. A person or a situation can make us angry, hurt our feelings or make us jealous. Often, these feelings are fleeting and only upset us for a very short time. But, sometimes, we allow these feelings to take root in our hearts.
When we allow things like anger, jealousy and hurt feelings to take root, they begin to take on a life of their own. They grow and get bigger. They fester. They begin to poison the good things in our lives. Feelings of contentment, thankfulness and forgiveness begin to take a backseat, while the negativity continues to grow.
As we focus on the negative, we attract more pests, and all of the good gets overshadowed by the bad. There is no room for the Holy Spirit within all of that negativity because we shut down and can no longer hear him. There is no room for things like love, joy and peace which are the Spirit’s fruits.
We can allow that one slight, whether big or small, to take over our entire being. The good news is that we can take precautions.
The good news is we have a guide-book to help us navigate life’s sometimes bumpy, roads. The Bible has a ton of advice on dealing with life’s curve balls. Philippians 4:8 says, “And now dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
I have always loved that verse. It helps to remind us to focus on the good, not the bad.
Psalm 37:8 says, “Stop being angry! Turn from your rage. Do not lose your temper- it only leads to harm.”
We are told here that we do have a choice whether to turn towards or away from anger.
Ephesians 4:26-27 tells us, “And, don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.”
Here again, we have a choice about how we deal with our emotions. Sure, we are going to get angry and we will likely get our feelings hurt from time to time, if we choose to live among other humans. We may find ourselves with some jealousy over someone else’s accomplishments. These are normal feelings, but they are only feelings. When we acknowledge them honestly in prayer, we can activate the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives and toss them in the trash where they belong, like that little squash.
Then, we can live in peace with joy. I think that is something worth striving for. What about you?
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂