Good Morning Garden

There is an anecdote of the Far West that carries a wonderful lesson. It appears that a party of hunters, being called away from their camp, left the campfire unattended, with a kettle of water boiling on it.

Presently an old bear crept out of the woods, and, seeing the kettle with its lid dancing about on top, promptly seized it. The boiling water scalded him badly; but instead of dropping the kettle instantly, he proceeded to hug it tightly—this being a bear’s idea of defense. Of course, the tighter he hugged it the more it burned him; and the more it burned him the tighter he hugged it; and so on in a vicious circle to the undoing of the bear.

This illustrates perfectly the way in which many people hug their difficulties to their bosoms by constantly rehearsing them to themselves and others.

Whenever you catch yourself thinking about your grievances, say to yourself sternly: “Bear hugs kettle,” and think about God instead. You will be surprised how quickly some long-standing wounds will heal.

Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord… (Psalm 25:15).

This story also illustrates our need to “let go and let God”, handle our grievances. The more we struggle with the wrongs we have endured, the more we think about them, the more we ensure they remain in our lives. It is only when we release them that we are released from them. This is not accomplished by our fixing the problem, but by letting it go and by trusting God to exert dominion over it. The formula is simple yet difficult. Forgive the offense, bless the offender and then turn away from it and toward God. Then we will begin to experien ce the peace that surpasses all understanding and enter the gate to our gardens.

Z gardener