Tilling

Greetings,

In our front, side, and back lawn.. I guess all the way around really… we have a vineyard. Or our landlord has a vineyard that he tends to throughout the year. All year he is preparing the soil / red hard clay, but the Greeks call it sand. North Florida calls it clay. But the landlord is preparing the land, tying off the branches, pruning, then harvesting. I had a post last fall during the harvest, but I never posted it… I will have to find it.

This past week our landlord came early morning… earlier than I would have liked …to clear out the vineyard. I was scared to go outside considering Peabody’s stash of goods. That dog will pick up anything off the street, dig out anything from the trash bins, and take our things from the house. They all go outside in the landlord’s vineyard… to be buried.

We give her the good doggie treats from Costco, out the door she goes. Now we check her mouth not only when she comes in, but also when she goes out. She wants to bury her treats… so that she can dig them up months later for what? Old moldy red clay crusted leftovers? I have tried to tell her when we leave there goes all her treats and her hard work of burying them.

So Vasilis, the landlord, succeeded to waking the late sleepers too early when he decided to run the tiller. I should have taken a picture… or video of the noise vibrating through my walls at such wee hours of the morning.

But as he was tilling, I watched out the window and top balconies, not in a voyeuristic kind of way, but just wanted to see what he found of Peabody’s. The only interesting thing was a pair of Harry’s shoes. The old Coke bottles, beer cans, and dead animals that she collects were old news…. She brings those home all the time.

But I watched as he finished one section of the yard and moved on to the next…. finishing our neighbors, stopping for a break (he has a little shed with a cot in it), then going back to work tilling the other neighbors. I liked it.

I liked the look of the tilled side. It appeared to be cleaner. The side yet to be tilled still had weeds scattered throughout, but the tilled side, with it’s recently turned earth looked neater… Remember I like clean neat lines… and that’s what this now looked like.





Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the soil by ploughing, ripping, or turning it.

I like that… ploughing, ripping, and turning it. It dawned on me maybe that’s what God is doing to me right now. Maybe? Here in my waiting room… my dissatisfaction with the lack of direction in my life…. Maybe it’s preparation. Maybe He’s preparing me for something. He has definitely turned things over. I went from having involvement with multiple ministries to sitting on a pew. And that is substantially ripping me inside.

Purposes Of Tillage

• Ploughing loosens and aerates the soil which in turn facilitates deeper penetration of roots.
• It helps in the growth of microorganisms present in the soil and thus, maintains the fertility of the soil.
• It is used for destroying weeds
  
  

Ploughing aerates and loosens the soil for deeper roots….

As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord,

so walk in Him,

rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith,

as you have been taught,

abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Col 2:6,7 (NKJV)

Growth and maintaining fertile soil….

You visit the earth and give it rain;

You make it rich and fertile with overflowing streams full of water.

You provide grain for them,

for you prepare the earth to yield its crops.
Ps. 65:9 (NET)

Destroying weeds….

The Parable of the Weeds

He presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.
Mat 13:24-26 (NET)

So as I look at our newly tilled vineyard....

I cannot help but think...

Obviously my soil / soul could use some turning and ripping so my roots can grow deeper and firmer. Maybe, I need to air out a little?

My soil / soul needs to maintain it's fertility... not have babies, but be rich in nutrients, contain sufficient minerals, good structure, and a range of characteristics that support and sustain life.

Surely, I have weeds that need destroying. Little seeds of doubt, insecurities, and lack of direction. Seeds that grow into weeds destroying the good stuff. Weeds will steal the nutrients of your harvest. They will literally suck the life out of your plants.

In the 65th Psalms, David is praying for victory over his enemies. He is calling for God to still the turmoil of the nation.

You saturate its furrows,

and soak its plowed ground.

With rain showers you soften its soil,

and make its crops grow.

Ps 65:10 (NET)

So I guess my prayers this week have been for God to do just that...plow up my soil, saturate it with His will, soften me so I may receive what He hs in store for me, and grow in Him

Blessings for the harvest,

Kristie