Life-Lawns

"If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, maybe you need to water your own lawn."  I heard this the other day on the Real Housewives of Orange County (that's probably the smartest thing that any of them have said) and I posted it this morning on my facebook page and got quite a few "likes" on it so I thought I would blog about how many times we want what we can't have but don't realize that we have the foundation to grow many of those dreams right underneath our own feet or we don't want to fix the weeds (issues) in our own lives in order to see positive, pretty growth come forth.

I've been one of those people who have always wanted what other people had because I always thought I wasn't good enough, I wasn't pretty enough, I wasn't talented enough...I always wanted to be someone else.  I'd always felt second-best or just good enough to get by with different things.  I was good enough to get a one-line solo in a musical but never a significant role; I was good enough to get into honors classes at school but never was at the top of my class (I graduated 8th out of 88); I was in a ton of clubs, but was popular by no means.  I tried and tried to be "smart" or tried to be "popular" because those were the people in school getting noticed and I felt like I was an invisible person--- their lawn looked better than the dirt patch I felt like I lived in.  It took a long time to realize the gifts that I have been given and how to use those strengths and how to grow my weaknesses.  God has given me some really awesome talents and over time I've learned how to use those things to grow a really pretty garden that I have in my "life-laws".  God has given all of us different and unique gifts that will only grown and flourish in our own lives and we need to focus our attention on what we have been given and not what others have.  You never know that what you have been given may be a long-lasting, longer blooming plant than the one you see in the next person and it make take a little bit longer, but if you keep on watering that gift and doing what you need to to keep that talent healthy.

On another note in this analogy is what that woman was talking about at the time she made that statement was her marriage and how many people get divorced prematurely because life looks better and seems easier than putting the work into your own relationship to make things grow.  I totally agree with her statement in this area.  I know there are many people who aren't jointly willing to put in the time and effort it takes to try to make their relationship work.  I've been in those relationships where one person says "I'm out" when things get tough and look ugly and aren't willing to go through what is necessary to try to get things worked out.  This doesn't only apply to just guy/girl or marriage relationships, but also to family and friend relationships.  Sometimes we aren't willing to get down to the bottom and dig out those things that are causing issues because it is hard, it may hurt, it's dirty and it takes time.  If any one has done real yard work and/or planted a garden, it's not easy and you get gross and you strain some muscles or get hurt by either the plant or a tool you are using.  But after some time goes by you start to see the fruits of your labor when you see the flowers blooming and you get to eat the vegetables you planted and it is so worth it.  I encourage you guys to put effort into your relationships and water them to keep them growing and healthy.  (There are times and certain relationships that aren't meant to grow and you do need to give up...but I encourage you to try before calling it quits)

One thing that it took me a while to realize is that, though the other people grass may look better, you don't know what type of soil foundation those people have.  Some people's lawn may be made up of astro-turf or that grass that people have brought in that is rolled out, because their soil is not good...what you see may be fake and only pretty on the surface but ugly and dead underneath and it's also the same with the relationship that you see in others.  It's important that we take a look at what we have and see what we have available to grow and to use and also to see what may be causing our "life-lawns" to not grow.  Also one thing to think about is that not all plants can grow in certain soils so in this analogy not all of us are given the strong ability to do certain things with what we have, but you never know what you can do until you try (and sometimes you have to try and fail several times before you get it right).


So I encourage you to take a look at your "life-lawn" and see what you have growing...is it good and fruitful, is it full of weeds and ugly?  You may be cultivating the soil to get ready to plant or have just planted something and are waiting to see it start to bloom.  You also have to remember to go and pick the weeds that might be growing in between those plants to make sure they don't choke out what you have planted.  "Life-lawns"-your personal and your relational ones- aren't done in one day; they take time, they take effort, they take continuous care and attention in order that they flourish.  I love the "life-lawn" that I have been given and I still have a lot more work to do.  I know that each one of yous that are reading this have some really cool stuff that is growing in your lives and there are many more awesome things to come if you are willing to take care of what you have been given