While mowing the lawn the other day, The Lord and I started into a conversation that has not stopped for 3 days. It’s been very interesting and revelatory in SO many ways. I’ll do my best to detail it tonight, and then come back to add more as it progresses. i hope this is able to speak to you as much as it has to me!
Weeds…
As I looked at the job before me, I almost gave up immediately and went back inside for a nap. But, I knew that I was living on borrowed time. You see, the weeds were taking over and it wouldn’t be long until one of my concerned neighbors called the city to ask for assistance in forcing me to mow. Yes, I’m sorry to admit, I’m THAT neighbor. The one who knows exactly how tall the grass can be before legal action can be taken against them. At times, I feel genuinely sorry for my neighbors. The reality is that there are times of the year when I am simply burried under an avalanche of work, and the lawn only gets my attention when it has reaches critical mass.
So, I stood there surveying the weeds that had taken over. I’ve learned from experience that 1) they have to be dealt with by hand, 2) they only get worse if unattended, and, 3) the bigger they are, the hard they pull. So, armed with as much determination as I could muster, I set out to mow while stopping at as many weeds as possible to pull them up.
As I reached the first few, I was surprised at how easily they came up. The further I went, the more I continued to be surprised. I don’t remember this ever being this easy before. What’s going on here?
And then, as if a small breeze had blown by in the Texas heat, I heard the Lord. Quietly, gently, and lovingly, he said, “the sprinklers ran last night.” Huh? It felt like an invitation…
Entering into the conversation, I quipped back, “so what does that have to do with it?” As it turns out, the answer to that question has been everything I’ve thought about over the last 3 days. Here are the basics of what I’ve learned about weeds, lies, and even Noah’s flood:
1) Weeds are much like lies in our lives. They start with a seed and germinate into these “things” that exist both inside our heart and outside of us in behaviors and solutions which are often visibile to everyone else. And, as it turns out, the condition of our heart has a lot to do with how they are removed.
2) When the soil of our heart has been watered (as my lawn had the night before), the weeds will generally pull out rather easily. As long as we grab them at the base, the roots tend to come right out with a tug. He was showing me that we need to be praying for the water of The Spirit long before the session. Perhaps even the week before, they and we should be praying for love, emotional connection, and a softening of the heart. He also gave me two prayer ideas - 1) to write a few “softening” prayers and post them here for people to use (click here), and 2) have the recipient survey their heart, determine what they would like to see Jesus do to help them emotionally, and have them pray this each day for a week before the session. (Prayers that Soften the Ground)
3) When the soil is dry and hard, the weeds don’t tend to come out at all, but simply rip off at the surface. Even here, the lawn is still better off than it was, but we know that since the root is still there, the weed will regrow and the root will have more time to mature and take hold. He showed me that this is still better than nothing and that the recipient will eventually grow weary of the pattern and choose to move deeper to pull the root. This requires great patience on the part of the facilitator. This could be especially important to people that minister to DID recipients (dissociated individuals).
4) The sooner you catch the germinating weed, the easier it is to pull up. Duh...
5) Some weeds have been so entrenched in the soil that they do a lot of damage as they come out. They may take a great deal of soil with them during removal. If this happens, He assured me that he repairs the damage. I felt like this could be related to people who have suffered great abuses where re-living those abuses may be particularly painful. He is faithful and will completely heal all woundings, including any made during the healing process.
6) Different weeds need different amounts of pull to get them out. And, it’s almost impossible to know how much or little force until you try to pull. Some large weeds come out easily and some small ones already have a great hold. Each weed is unique. The warning here was simply to not assume anything about the condition of the recipient or the issues they’re dealing with. Even if you’ve dealt with this lie before, that doesn’t really mean anything about what’s happening in this particular case.
7) Some grow by themselves and some grow in groups. You have to survey the land to find your strategy for removal. Going into the healing process with a sense of scope may make it a little easier (but again, we want to avoid assumptions). Recognizing that there may be a number of weeds present is very important and the recipient should really take the time necessary to discern if all of the related weeds for a given event have been dealt with. If you’re going to take the time and effort to deal with your pain, then be thorough and do your best not to leave any roots.
8) There are times where mowing the yard and cutting off the weeds is appropriate. Sometimes, the person just needs relief and it’s perfectly fine to help them get there and then go after the weeds as they regrow. It’s up to the recipient how they want to proceed.
9) I saw a picture of Elijah sending his servant out to check for rain in anticipation of the end of the drought. I had a sense that we, as facilitators, should be anxious about the healings that are coming. Look for the opportunities and work with expectancy.
10) My Mom added this one - Sometimes, when you’re looking at a yard, you can’t even see the weeds until you try to find them. They just get hidden in the grass until they’re large enough to be seen on their own (good word, mom!)
11) During our conversation, I was thinking about one recipient in particular and had a picture of the hardness and dryness of their heart and the size of the weed above. I thought, “it’s going to take a lot more than 1 week of watering to move that sucker.” The Lord replied, “Yes, it sure will. But, what you don’t see is that I’m also watering it from below. As we apply water from the depths (which I understood to be from their heart through The Spirit) and from above, the weed will pull out easily. The surface tension is easy to break.”
And He went on…
At the time of the flood, the world was one big weed. It was in a condition that no one in the present can understand. As I brought the water to cleanse it, the rain from above could not be enough, so I also opened up the depths. I flooded the whole earth from above and below to purify it. It was the only way to deal with the condition of the world.
So, he has put many clues to our very nature in the physical world around us. Everything speaks of His glory and perfection. As Jesus pointed out, even if voices were silent, the rocks would cry out in praise to God. He has truly created a universe that exudes His very nature at every turn.
I hope that some of these insights will help those both in ministry and those receiving. I STRONGLY recommend that we begin softening the ground of our hearts as daily practice and, especially, as we receive ministry and revelation from The Lord. There is so much that He has to offer, I pray that each of us will be positioned for perfection in Him.
Prayers that Soften the Ground
-Shawn