Thorns

We have set out to reclaim land to expand our farming endeavors. We would love to relocate to more land, but have decided that we will use every opportunity available to us now till the Lord leads elsewhere.

There is an acre of land overgrown with thorns just beyond our existing garden area. There are briers, wild rose brambles, bushes with sharp tips and all this is locked together with wild grape vines. It presents itself as a bulwark against using the land in any productive way. For the past several days we all have been slashing, sawing, lugging, tugging and burning our way through the mass. It is not easy work. There is sweat and tears. Yesterday my oldest son looked down at the snow around his feet and it was staining red. Thorns had pierced his lower leg, and he saw the blood before realizing the poke was actually a cut.

We don't complain, and are excited to see the progress after a full day of work. My youngest son commented today about how good it felt to be exercise tired. (He quickly pointed out he was not tired as in ready to go to bed!) I would guess to date we are about 1/2 way removing the surface material. We have not worked on the roots yet. Perhaps some of the larger tree stumps will rot in the ground a few years before I attempt to dig them up. We hope to put in a small orchard this spring in this reclaimed area.


When creation finished, what was the condition of the land? "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." Gen 1:31 Man was placed in a beautiful garden. A place in which they could express their creativity and joy. But when sin entered man's heart, there was a profound change in the soil. I wonder if there is a link between our spiritual connectedness with God, and how our soils perform. The Lord placed a curse on the soil, or did God simply describe how man's choice would impact other systems around him. "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground." Gen 3:17-19

An enemy has introduced the thorns, and the thorns are all around us. We can perpetuate the thorns via disobedience, or cooperate with the angels to heal our land by being obedient and in harmony with God.

What thorns could you clear today?