Cassie leaned her head back and snuggled into the overstuffed Lazy Boy recliner.  She curled her legs up closer to her torso and sighed.  Her weary eyes struggled to stay open as she gazed out the French doors to the courtyard that housed her garden.  “I really need to get outside and clean up that overgrown garden…” flitted briefly through her mind.  Her eyes slipped closed as she surrendered to the sleep that had been chasing her.

“Cassie,”  the man’s voice called out from the front of the house.

 “I’m back here, Joshua.”  She answered.  “I’m in the family room.”  She directed.  Joshua joined her in her inspection of the wild and overgrown garden spread out before them.  He tilted his head to peer more intently through one of the small rectangular panes of the French doors.

 “I feel like that garden is my reflection.”  Cassie sighed.

 “I know you do, Cassie.”  Joshua gently smiled.  His eyes encouraged her to continue.

 “I’ve been depressed for a long time.  I feel like all the bad things that have been happening in my life are like those weeds out there in that garden.  I feel choked by all my junk.  Just like those weeds have come in and taken over the garden and killed all the flowers that use to grow there.”  She glanced at Joshua with eyes brimming with tears.  “You know I use to be a flower, Joshua.  What happened?”

 “You began to believe all the lies everyone was telling you, Cassie.  Your husband told you that you weren’t enough for him anymore.  Your boss complained that you just didn’t have that competitive edge they needed.  Your doctors labeled you with all kinds of diagnoses and medicated you without really finding out what was wrong with you.  Your son was just a typical teenager going through puberty and he struck out at you with hateful words.”  Cassie nodded at the events that had occurred over the past two years. 

 Joshua reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.  “You stopped listening to what I said about you, Cassie.”

 Cassie thought for a moment and realized that she hadn’t heard Joshua’s voice in a long, long time.  They had always been close growing up.  In fact they had been inseparable for a majority of her life.  The distance between them had grown gradually.  First, she met Mark and had chosen to spend all of her energy on getting him to notice her.  Then once he noticed her she had to spend even more energy and time to make sure he kept noticing her and no other girl.  She realized now that she’d chosen Mark over Joshua.

 “Cassie, you know that you are still my flower, don’t you?”  Joshua questioned in a loving tone.

 Cassie shook her head in shame and took a step away from Joshua.

 “Cassie, I called you many years ago to be my Truth Gardener.  Do you remember that?”  Joshua inquired.  “Do you remember the story I told you then?”

 “No, not really.”  Cassie was drawing a blank.

 “Ok, sit down and I’ll tell you again.”  Joshua guided Cassie to the sofa and sat down beside her. 

 “A long time ago, I created a young man out of the dust of the earth and I breathed life into him.  I called him Adam.  He is your very, very distant relative. 

 Inside of all of his descendants is a heart of fertile ground from the dust of the earth from which he was created.  Each of his descendants has a choice of the seeds that they plant into their heart of fertile ground.  They can choose to plant seeds of my Word, which is truth, or they can plant the seeds of their enemy’s word which are lies. 

When someone plants a seed of my Word, I come and I water and care for that seed until it grows into a beautiful flowering plant.  You see, Cassie, each seed bearing plant bears its own kind. (Genesis 1)  Whatever seed you plant determines the plant that will grow.  If you plant seeds of truth – truth plants will grow – they are the beautiful flowers that bloom in your heart garden.  If you plant seeds of lies – liar plants will grow- these are the weeds that try and choke the flowers.  You must choose the seed you will plant in your own garden, Cassie.

 I’ve called all my precious children to be Truth Gardeners.  I’ve given you my Word which is the seed of truth. (Luke 8:11)  Whenever it is planted in those who hold fast to my truth, in the good soil of their heart garden, the flowers will steadily grow forth. (Luke 8:15)  Unfortunately, the trickster (your foe) fooled Adam and convinced him to plant seeds of lies in his heart.  Weeds rapidly began to choke the flowers in Adam’s heart garden and soon Adam lost sight of the beautiful flowers because of the weeds.  Through Adam the enemy began to taint all human’s heart gardens.  It is only through knowing my Word and my truth that my children can reclaim their heart gardens and see the beautiful truth flowers that long to grow there.”

 “But, I have so many weeds in my heart garden.” Cassie began. “In fact I can no longer tell the difference between the weeds and the flowers.”

 “Ahh, yes the enemy has tried to confuse many of my children by camouflaging his lies with flowers that resemble truth at first glance.”  Joshua scooted closer to Cassie.  “But, Cassie my children know my voice.  When I speak, the truth tugs at their heart and they recognize my voice. They won’t follow another’s voice.” (John 10:4-5)  Joshua stood and pulled Cassie to her feet.  “Come with me my child.”  Joshua led Cassie out to her outside garden.  He knelt down, grasped one of the weeds and yanked it out of the ground.  Cassie gasped.  She fell to her knees and peered at the beautiful vivid yellow flower that had been hidden in the shadow of the weed. 

 “But how…?”  Cassie stuttered.  “How could that little flower survive and not get choked?”

 “Because that little flower knows my voice and even when that weed tried to choke it and kill it with a loud voice the flower stood strong and waited to hear my voice again.  That flower continued to peek around the weed and find the sun.  It looked for the sun’s voice – its rays offered the flower life.  My children need to do the same thing.  Even when the weeds, the liar’s voice – try to choke them they need to seek the Son’s voice (my Word) and receive the life I offer them.

 Cassie nodded and then looked up at Joshua with big eyes, “Can we look for more flowers, Joshua?”

 “Of, course.”  Joshua grinned as he watched Cassie begin yanking the weeds out of her garden.  With each yank he heard her say His Word that had been buried within her.  His smile broadened as He saw the seeds that she was placing in the fertile ground of her heart garden.

 “I am a new creation in Christ, the old has passed away, and the new has come.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17) Cassie planted that seed deep in her heart knowing that a beautiful flower would soon blossom.

Until next time blessings and healing