Metaphors

Three metaphors for life I've been thinking on lately...

A bike trip. Sometimes you coast, sometimes you pedal-pedal-pedal. But in life, you can't often see the hill that makes the difference between the two.
And most pertinently, think of riding up a hill. For the first little bit, you can coast on inertia. Then it begins to get tougher, and tougher, and tougher, until (on some hills at least) you need to jump off your bike and walk it. BUT if you can 'wake out of your slumber' and catch the point where friction overtakes inertia, and expend some good energy there, the rest of the hill becomes quite achievable. That principle is true in so many parts of life I won't even try to name them, but one comes particularly to mind: temptation. (speaking from a human perspective) If we learn to recognize the turning point where we are still close enough to God to make choosing the right achievable without a great deal of difficulty, and expend a bit of effort at that point, continuing in righteousness for the next little while is so very much easier (not to say easy :-) ). -But if we miss that point, we'll be huffing and puffing and may very well end up stumbling.

A road trip. I assume you've driven through mountains. You know how they start small on the horizon: "o look, there's the mountains" you peek and strain. Then they quietly grow on the horizon while you are oblivious. Suddenly, they make themselves obvious. They loom larger and larger and 'we must be there!' but no, not yet. Anticipation, anticipation -- then a dive into a dark tunnel gilded with dingy yellow lights and in moments the mountain is behind you, as it slowly fades into near-nothingness again. That is how events feel to me just at present. No time to pause, savour, even experience, just a minute or two and it's on the other horizon and another something demands my (incomplete) attention ~ yet, thank You God for helping me to enjoy things more lately as I am ever-increasingly aware that they are Your gifts!

A garden. Here's some life lessons I've recorded over time from my work in the garden:
Anything not in its proper place is a weed - even good things (that's what priorities are for - and God must always be #1!)
String hurts, but it's for the best - If I were a plant, I'd hate string. It keeps me from growing how I think I should. It keeps me within tight confines, binds me to something rigid, cuts into my skin and even (sometimes) limits my growth. But what I as a plant would not know is that string directs me to the best way to grow. Those confines and that rigidness keeps me from falling over from storms or wind~or even the weight of my own fruit! (I think you can guess the meaning of this one)
Plants that grow at the wrong time rarely if ever prosper (Timing is, if not everything, then at least a lot of things)
It is hard labor to prepare the ground, but O the difference! (Thank the Lord for all the preparing work He's done in our hearts!)
The worst weeds and diseases begin almost invisibly - know thine enemy (learn to know the Enemy when his work is almost imperceptible. In fact, "the best defense is an effective offense." The best 'treatment' for diseases - such as mulching, spraying, and powders- occurs before it even exists)
Sometimes it takes awhile to see the fruit - but it's coming. Faithfulness + trust = growth.
Catch weeds early. The longer they stay, the harder they are to remove. - Sometimes it's just so hard to get motivated to pull weeds. It's hot, or it's the end of the season and there isn't anything left in the garden except weeds, or I'm busy, or it hasn't rained lately (which makes weeding more difficult) or there aren't many and they're small - perfect! Although that last reason seems viable - not so! Catch weeds while they are small and few and they are easy to eradicate (at least for the present). Be lazy and ignore the weeds and you'll need an hour or so and a hole-digging shovel to get some of them out (spoken from experience!). Sin is like that too. Catch it while it's young and you have a fighting chance. Once it's deep rooted, your work will be much harder.
There are four types of weeds, each of which corresponds to a type of sin.
1) simply enormous. A rapid grower, it's quite impressive, but has little root. Once you can muster the courage to give a pull at it, it comes up readily. Its strength is in its visual impact. Specific angers or annoyances are often this way, for one example.
2) everywhere. These have shallow root systems and are o-so-easy to pull up, but there are so many of these itty bitty weeds that in looking at the whole, it is easy to be overwhelmed. Their strength is in their numbers. Pride can be like these weeds.
3) deep rooted. These can be big or small, their distinction is the difficulty with which they are removed from the soil. Spade at a minimum. Fortunately, they're rather rare, but expect to spend some time on them when you find them. Their strength is in their grasp. Inherited strongholds of sin and sin with deep connection to who we are* can be like these.
4) deceptive. It's not that the roots of these don't come up easily, it's just that the leaves come more easily yet. It's easy to think '1 yank & it's gone' when really the core of the plant remains. Its strength is its trickery. Pride can be like this too :-). Or bitterness, selfishness~when we get the surface, we think we get the root: wrong.

*Part of who we are as individuals is our specific needs. Although most are common to all, we each have certain ones that are placed at the core of our beings: communication/understanding, ability/"potency," and  "valuedness" are three I've noticed (and can think of at the moment). These are specific ways God wishes to satisfy us, but these are also the places where - if God is not given Lordship - we are most vulnerable to lies and therefore to sin.