That's What Friends Are For~

This post has been rolling around in my head for a while now, but I've been hard-pressed for the time to get it down on paper, ahem, I mean typed out.  It's a bit different from some of my other posts recently...which have been full of photos and snippets of the stuff we've been up to lately.  And even now, I'm not sure I can do my thoughts justice...but I'm hopeful that God will give me the words.

This is our backyard...until recently.  I wish I had a real before picture, because this looks pretty good compared to how it used to be.  By the time we got to this point, we had been working on it for days and the tall-as-a-six-year-old weeds were gone.

The people who lived here before us had a swingset in the back.  This area was separated by a border made of 2 x 4's and filled with wood chips.  We never really had a plan for what to do with this area...and with limited finances and limited time, we just never gave it much attention.  It's a fairly shaded area, but that didn't keep the weeds from growing well.  Sin can grow bigger in the darkness.  

Every now and then, we would weed whack and begin to clear the area.  That would make it at least look better for a bit, but we never seemed to make much progress on really clearing it properly.  And sadly, we were often satisfied with it as long as it didn't look like a small forest of weeds.  How often do we think all is well as long as things appear okay?

Over time, it became so overgrown that we got used to it looking like a mess.  How often do we get so used to our sin that we can no longer see it clearly?

Yes, we would still try to clear it out now and then, but it was often discouraging work...so much effort for such little progress...why bother?  Why is it our tendency to get discouraged when sin is hard to weed out?

We were also fond of the all-the-weeds-will-die-in-the-winter-and-then-we-can-start-fresh-in-the-spring approach.  It never worked...spring would come and we were on to outdoor activities that were way more fun than clearing the weed patch.  Plus, it never seemed that bad in the spring and we thought we had plenty of time to deal with it.  Ignoring sin will not make it disappear. 

Well, add a baby in May and a husband working like crazy to complete his PhD and you have a yard that got little to no attention for months.  Then add that you find out you're moving and you need to sell your home.  Suddenly, we realized the haunted house look we had going wasn't best for curb appeal.  Steve and I began Operation Reclaim The Yard in September.  We worked on the back first, thinking we were just going to clear out the weeds, till, and seed...let's just say that it didn't go according to plan.  Sin doesn't just disappear because you finally decide to tackle it.

Once we were finally back there and really working on it, we realized what a mess we had on our hands.  We still thought we could get it under control in weekend warrior fashion, though.  We got the big stuff cleared and then began working on the ivy.  Our neighbors behind us have ivy at the back of their property and it had grown into ours.  I knew it was there, and for the most part I like ivy, so I was fine with it.  But neither of us really understood how far that ivy had spread...it was everywhere...and well entrenched.  Sometimes sin doesn't look or feel like we think it should...it often appears harmless at first.


We raked, yanked, pulled, uprooted, and hacked for two weekends.  It was during this time that God started relating to me the parallel between our weed/ivy problem and sin.  It was quite interesting and I decided to snap this pic thinking that I might eventually put these thoughts down on paper...I mean, type them out.  It wasn't just that the ivy had spread...it was so well and deeply rooted that, at times, it seemed like it would be impossible to get it cleared out.  Sin, left unchecked, grows and spreads and roots deeply...it becomes a tangled mess that will affect everything in your life.

Steve is very happy with the ivy problem~

Meanwhile, we were spending our get-things-in-order-to-put-the-house-on-the-market weekend time only on the back yard...the front yard and our home also needed attention.  We were in over our heads.  Reluctantly, I decided to act on the encouragement that I had received from our dear friends and community group leaders (bless you Bill and Ramona) to let the group know if we needed help getting anything ready.  I really didn't want to ask for help...who would want to come do our yard work...I knew many of our friends would probably willingly help, but I just didn't want to bother them...shouldn't we have been more on top of our mess, anyway?  Can you hear it, friends?  Pride...not wanting to bother others...not wanting to say, "I need help over here"...not wanting to reveal what had become a problem.

I sent out the distress message and made plans for a yard work day...my intention was to start on a Saturday around 9 and work hard through the morning hours, provide a lunch, and send everyone on their merry way.  In general, I still think this was a good plan, but in looking back, I realize I was still trying to minimize the impact our mess would have on the weekend plans of our friends by planning for work only in the morning.  

The day arrived.  Our hope was to weed, make some designated mulch areas around our azalea's in the front, add the mulch, and finish bagging the yard debris for trash pick-up.  9:30 brought the arrival of one friend.  I got the girls busy with a bucket of soapy water...their job was to scrub their chalk creations off the house, the garage, the fence...their sweet creations were everywhere :)  Our friend worked tirelessly on the weeds in the front...it was a big mess around our azaleas.  He had to pretty much crawl under and behind them to get all the weeds...project Humble Rachel was well under way.  Sin begins to lose it's hold even when just one person is allowed to see it...it begins to lose its power in the light. 

Other friends began showing up and by 11 we had a big work crew and our yard was being transformed.  I prepared a hot dog/chips/watermelon lunch for our sweet friends and we all enjoyed a break.  The work was hard, but the fellowship was wonderful!  My dear friend, Ramona, wrote about it here.

Wow...a lot had been accomplished!  Steve and I were in awe of what had already been done...it would have taken us weeks to accomplish that much.  I thought lunch and fellowship was a wonderful way to end our yard clean-up time.  But many of our friends weren't ready to leave...they wanted to keep on working.  I was almost in disbelief...except that our friends are awesome like that :)  Friends came and went all day until about 3:00 that afternoon.  Some were there for a short time and others for longer, but all came to help...they came to serve...they came to teach us.  So many of our friends actually thanked us before they left...thanked us for a chance to serve...wow!  Our problem became an opportunity for us to swallow our pride and to be helped...our problem became an opportunity for others to show love and care...our problem was redeemed by God and turned into a reflection of Him.

Just some things to consider...
...what happens when you open yourself up to help?
...what happens when you really decide to share life with others?
...what happens when you lead by example and choose to serve?

Steve and I and our family have been well cared for by our friends here in PA...cared for in ways that are amazing and humbling...we are changed people because of how others have shared life with us.  Lord, we thank you for the dear people you have used to touch and change us.

Again, I wish I had taken more pics, but we were all so busy...here are a few that I did happen to get as well as an after shot of the house.

American Gothic~  All kidding aside...I hope to be like these two dear friends when I grow up...thanks so much Trish and Rick~

I began to think my azaleas were going to be trimmed into cute little animal shapes by the time he was done...thank you Jesse!

All spiffed up...much improved curb appeal~

I pray you are growing in community and sharing life with others~
Rach