April….
Somewhere in Hell….
“I’m calling this meeting to
order. Today we want an update on the SQ garden tour project. My Intel informs
me that Insecurity and Anxiety have been working well
together and that our patient is feeling fairly stressed out. Now it’s time to
add Control
and Perfectionism
to the mix. Would you two please present your plan of attack to the group?”
“Good morning! As you may know,
many humans who fall prey to insecurity often over compensate by trying to be
perfect. SQ is no different, and like many perfectionist, she is a meticulous list
maker. For several months she has been starting each day with massive To Do lists and so far her plans have been working nicely thus causing her to fall
into one of our favorite traps –
believing that she in control. We have several small disasters in store for her starting
with catching her yard on fire. Then we are planning heavy rainfall in the days
prior to the tour; rain that will flatten her corn and flop over her poppies
and zinnias. Control, who has had quite a bit of success with other gardeners, will also use these rains to promote fungus and mold in SQ’s
new circle garden. As she runs around in a blind panic each day repairing the
damage we have done, Insecurity and Anxiety will be able to
double down on their efforts and in the end we should have one frazzled, panic-stricken gardener on our hands. Of course our ultimate goal is for the
patient to get peeved with God by focusing their attention on all the things
that are going wrong and being oblivious to all the things that He blesses them
with. We believe we have a 98% chance of achieving that goal in this situation”
“OK, I think Control and Perfectionism
have everything under control. Ha! Pun intended! Next month I want an update from one of our best
weapons, Discontent.”
Somewhere in Heaven…
“Let’s open our meeting this
morning with prayer….
Oh
Lord, we are trying mightily to hold on to SQ in preparation for this garden
tour. Please help us suppress her sinful nature and help her mature (which you
would think she would have a handle on at age 56) and grow in Your wisdom.
Thank you for loving her in spite of herself. Amen
Now from what I have heard, the
enemy has brought control and perfectionism on board. They are mighty adversaries,
especially control. Nothing is harder to reach than a human who thinks they are
in control of their own lives and have no need to humbly seek God’s grace. However, we have Submission and Humility
speaking to us today about their counterterrorism plans.”
“Good Morning! We are very
excited to get to work on our patient! We have gotten hold of the plans of the
enemy and as always, they are unwittingly playing right into our hands. They
have a series of garden disasters planned for SQ., but it will be our job to
use those same disasters to remind her that she is not and never has been in
control of her garden, much less her life. Everything she has is a gift of God.
We will remind her of Romans 11:36…
‘For from Him and through Him and for
Him are all things.’
With this realization refreshed
in her mind, we will then help her recall the first beatitude…
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven’
SQ needs to understand that
perfectionism and poorness of spirit are total opposites. As Kay Arthur says, ‘poverty
of spirit…is an absence of self-assurance, self-reliance, and pride.’ We will use a bible verse that is a favorite
of many gardeners, Matthew 6:28-29, to drive home that fact that God has always had everything under control.
‘Consider the lilies of the field how
they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in
all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.’
Once she relinquishes control,
submits to God’s will, and adopts a humble spirit, Peace will be able to
finish his work flushing out insecurity and anxiety. Soon SQ will appreciate
God’s sovereignty in her garden again, and finding joy in her garden will
make her happy to share it with others.”
“Well, it sounds like a great
plan! We look forward to hearing about its success next month.”
;-)
No comments:
Post a Comment