“I planted, (another person) watered; but
God gave the increase … We are God’s co-workers.” 1 Corinthians 3
We have stumps in our yard. Not a few; not a couple; but a
bunch of stumps. Most of them (in the lawn) are low enough I’ve been able to
mow over them, for I do keep my mower height up a few notches, and yet they are
and have been regular toe stubbers for the year or so we have lived in our
home.
We checked with people who remove stumps for a living, but
the price per stump to remove them seemed outrageous, which is quite likely why
the previous owners never got rid of them to begin with. In time they should
disintegrate, but I am not sure I want to wait until then. I suspect they are
more likely to petrify and become rocks, joining the zillion other stones that occupy
our soil.
Having seen stump grinders at work, and having an idea of
how they do their business of grinding, I could see no reason I couldn’t handle
the task myself – necessity being the mother of invention and all. I went to
the store and bought a decent (but inexpensive) plug-in electric chainsaw, and
for the past week or so have just ground away at those stubborn little
toe-jammers one by one until the yard is now mostly clear.
So far, I have only found one stump that has resisted my
efforts, but it is up in a flower bed and out of the way, so it really isn’t a
problem. It’s just an eyes-sore I want removed, but it will come down in time –
of that I am sure.
I find my spiritual life is something like our yard. There
are things that stump me and against which I stub my toes. Many things I leave
to God to take care of, for those things really do rest in his hands.
Like the natural decay of wood, there are character defects
that will wear away over time and disappear, and that is a good thing. I think
it is part of God’s plan to help us learn where the stumps of life are so we
can find ways around them – even in the dark.
But there are other things that are a problem for us in the
“now” – like impatience, anxiety, or depression, which we can grind away at in
the present moment. It isn’t easy. Good things never are, and yet we are told
that all things come to good for those who love God and who are called
according to God’s purpose, and I believe it.
There are things only God can do, but for the most part, God
expects and requires our active participation. There’s an old joke: If you want
to win the lottery, and pray for God to help you win (an approach I DO NOT
advocate), you ought to at least meet God half way and buy a lottery ticket.
Sometimes we want God to change our lives one way or
another, but we are unwilling to do our part to make it happen. We want
friends, but we won’t join new groups. We want sobriety, but won’t stop our
drinking or using. We want more business, but won’t advertise.
We pray for patience, but get angry when God sends trials
our way – but how else will God help us build our “patient” muscles if we don’t
face circumstances that will exercise them? How will God change our world if we won’t help
him change us?
Watch what you pray for; God often answers prayers in ways we
don’t expect, and in ways we will not appreciate, but that is just how God
operates.
Knowing that God is God and we are not, it is easy to simply
expect God “do it all”, but the fact is that God put us here; we are
instruments of his grace. To act as if it is otherwise would be to become
derelict in our duty – and that’s no way to live.
If there are things that would improve your health and
well-being (and that of your community), then ask God for the tools you need to
plant, water, or grind away on life’s stumpers. It will make for a tree-mendous
difference for everyone here in this, our valley.
