Farming

My dad was a farmer all his life. He started with his father as a young man and took over the family farms once he was out of high school. I know many farmers and they are some of the hardest working people you will ever meet. My dad used a farm implement called a cultivator. It was hooked up behind a tractor then used to go between the rows of corn or soybeans to turn over the rich black soil and to dig up any weeds that weren't supposed to be there. 

As I said yesterday, it's quiet at my house, and when the baby I babysit is sleeping, it's quiet. I've had many hours to think about my relationship with God, my husband, my children and friends, and ministry.  It seems too many relationships go by the wayside because we are too busy to cultivate them and do the hard work of maintaining those relationships. Have we lost our hunger for the Word of God because we would rather fill our time catching up on our tv shows, or facebook or the latest novel or movie? We're too busy with work, with the kids, with extended family. We're too busy teaching Sunday School and Bible studies to see that the most important relationships are floundering. All these things are important and this post is for ME as well as anyone reading today. 

How do we keep the weeds at bay and keep the soil from turning so hard there is  no longer a hunger and desire for God? How do we cultivate our marital relationships, taking time to realize this relationship is our primary relationship if we are married and should come before our relationship with our children? How do we balance family, work, and ministry to others?
This is not a post to send you on a guilt trip for the weekend. My heart aches for those I've seen in my ministry experience and throughout my life who have let these relationships grow full of weeds from neglect. Again,this post is for me also for I had a defining time in my life regarding this very issue twenty plus months ago.

Something to think for the weekend. Some helpful thoughts on Monday!