How to spring clean the garden of our HEART
This year I am anxiously waiting for spring to burst into life, the sunshine to make my heart feel warm, and to witness bright colors everywhere.
Desire to spring clean my heart and garden
The desire to spring clean my garden is prevented by the cold temperatures that refuse to leave even though it is officially Spring.
The winter season in my opinion depicts the cold and the dark phase of one’s life. It wasn’t until I witnessed snow storms more than a decade ago that I realized how bitter frosty winters can be.
The trees along with the ground look barren, days are much shorter with darkness covering the sky by 5 pm, and even layers of jackets are insufficient as one waits for their transportation.
Today I observed some of my neighbors cleaning their gardens, and it got my thinking about fixing my garden and to CLEAN MY HEART.
Some painful memories can be stubborn refusing to depart from us like these winters.
Our heart is the powerhouse of all the operations of human life. It carries emotions, and desires which can be both deceitful or filled with pure love.
Mean words , illness, slandering , heartaches , past traumas, and rejections can cause our heart to be bitter and broken.
A heart that is unguarded and unclean can grow cold and hard!
Here are six ways to spring clean our heart today.
1– SHED LIGHT
We must begin at the core of the problem of our heart and that is by shedding SONSHINE into the darkness that has crept into our heart.
The Son of God is the very source of our life, without Him, a believer cannot blossom.
Open the windows and doors of our heart and let Christ be the gardener and guardian. Ask the Lord to shed light into our heart to see if we have allowed bitterness, pride, or anger to rule us.
Abide in the Lord so that His Light will help you flourish in the coming days.
The conscience of man is the lamp of the Lord searching and examining all the innermost parts of his being. PROVERBS 20:27, amp.
“It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness and the light dwells with HIM. Daniel 2:22, NASB
Related Post : How is God’s Word a Light to our feet
2– CHECK OUR LOCATION
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers. PSALM 1:1-3, NASB
We should check the location of our standing, sitting, and walking as a Christian. Are we conformed to the World or transformed by the WORD?
May we stand firm on the solid ground that is filled with divine nutrients.
Being planted by the Living Waters ensures stability and fruitful life even during adverse conditions.
“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Luke 8:15, NIV
3 – DISCARD THE WEEDS
Weeds have their sneaky ways to entangle into our Christian lives. They are subtle sins that we have compromised by ignoring the conviction of the Holy Spirit and by being inactive.
Matthew 18:9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
Proverbs 24:30,31, NASB- I passed by the field of the sluggard and by the vineyard of the man lacking sense ,thons had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.
–What are some of the weeds that are difficult of get rid of in your life?
4– PRUNE
We must allow the painful pruning by the Gardener of our soul. God will cut down the dead branches that have ceased to draw nourishment from the roots.
John 15:2 (b) every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he disciplines, and corrects every son whom He receives.
John 15:6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire.
Hebrews 12:11, NASB All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
–Why are pruning necessary?
5– CREATE BARRIERS
Barriers help prevent the predator from destructing our garden. The first time I saw my tulip bulbs blossoming into pink flowers, I was thrilled only to notice the flowers gone the very next day.
I was so sure it was someone who walked by that plucked my flower until I saw a brown rabbit nibbling them.
Proverbs 22:24, KJV Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
Proverbs 16:28 A dishonest person spreads strife, and a gossip separates close friends.
Our heart can be easily broken and shattered by the wrong set of people for the rest of our lives if we are not careful by setting up wise boundaries.
Similar Post : 33 Biblical advices on Christian Boundaries
Remember to cover your lives with godly friends and family who will keep us accountable, with lot of prayer, fasting, and bible study.
6 – GET RID OF THE TRASH
This is a very important step as we clean our heart – gather all the emotional, mental, physical trash and give them back to God. Memories are like sticky thoughts, so make sure to remove them once and for all.
Read -Ephesians 4:31; and Matthew 11: 28
Never forget to get rid of the entanglement of those cobwebs that can easily trap our heart and make us lifeless, unyoked, unguarded, and bitter.
I pray that as you are spring clean this season you will find yourself bearing the fruit of the Spirit.
Related Post : 6 Steps to follow after dropping off Emotional Baggage
Reflection –
—When the garden of your heart blossom once again, how will you pray and support someone else in their winter?
—Which of these 6 ways do you find harder to spring clean?
I would love to hear your thoughts about how you spring clean your life amidst struggles!
Diana
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Donna Miller
April 2, 2018 at 6:11 amThe ‘creating barriers’ was the hard part for me for many years. God is helping me to walk in wisdom now with who I let hang out close to me or speak into my life. Alot of people, sometimes even those who say they are Christians, let the enemy just have their mouths and they speak anything but life over me and I can’t have that anymore. My need to walk with God is stronger than people pleasing anymore. TY for this beautiful post! ❤
Bev @ Walking Well With God
April 2, 2018 at 6:15 amDiana,
Great post on Spring Cleaning our hearts. I would say I struggle a lot with setting boundaries or barriers. Too often I let people step on my heart or make my soul become disheartened. Being like Jesus does not mean that we have to be a doormat. I will reflect on all the other points as well as they are excellent!
Blessings,
Bev xx
Rosemerry R Blash
April 2, 2018 at 6:25 amYour writing is beautiful. Cleaning our hearts is so important for healthy Christian living. I sense that because you understand this you are bringing such a wonderful you to your family. Thank you for sharing this.
Michele Morin
April 2, 2018 at 7:20 amThis post demolishes the boundaries between the sacred and the secular. As we haul away the dead branches and the piles of leaves that have collected over a long winter, this is a sweet reminder to be baring our hearts to God and keeping up with that most-important relationship.
Blessings to you!
Meagan
April 2, 2018 at 9:56 amHow beautiful! Thank you for sharing this!
Meagan
https://thelovefilledway.blogspot.com
valerie
April 2, 2018 at 10:07 amI love this post! What a great metaphor. You relay so many important aspects to cleaning our hearts.
Beth
April 2, 2018 at 10:48 amLove all of your truths shared here today, Diana. My post today has a similar leaning. We must both be thinking about the need to do spring cleaning in more ways than one! 😉
Diana
April 2, 2018 at 11:34 amI am going to check out your post right now ,Beth 🙂 Thank you for stopping by today .
Tiffany Montgomery
April 2, 2018 at 12:28 pmoh how I wish there were not weeds. strongholds of sin that are just so hard to get rid of for good. And this is a season where God is pruning back so much to get me in a place of rest to hear His voice better.
Diana
April 2, 2018 at 12:45 pmI wish there were no pruning because they hurt but I know the Lord is pruning me so that I would bear much fruit in my Christian life . Thank you for stopping by Tiffany 🙂
Jessica Allen
April 2, 2018 at 1:18 pmI love the metaphor of spring cleaning our hearts! These are great reminders for me, especially getting rid of the weeds and creating barriers! Thank you!
Diana
April 2, 2018 at 2:04 pmYes, it helped me to keep cleaning my heart as well:) so glad you stopped by . Much blessings
Melanie Redd
April 2, 2018 at 2:25 pmWhat a good word, Diana!
Great reminder, “Open the windows and doors of our heart and let Christ be the gardener and guardian. Ask the Lord to shed light into our heart to see if we have allowed bitterness, pride, or anger to rule us.”
I look forward to sharing this one.
Blessings,
Melanie
Diana
April 2, 2018 at 6:50 pmAmen ! I give all praises to God for giving me this insight . A bitter winter opened my eyes about the condition of my heart. I am always thrilled by your visit
Juanita Deloris
April 2, 2018 at 9:49 pmLoved this! Very true and encouraging post. I have learned that is is very important to take care of our heart, spiritually speaking. It is important not to let the wrong things take root. It is important to guard it. Not doing the things you’ve shared can be highly detrimental. Thanks for sharing!
Peggy Medberry
April 3, 2018 at 6:45 pmI love this. And my heart probably needs at least a daily cleaning too!
Diana
April 3, 2018 at 7:26 pmI am so glad you stopped by 🙂
Liz
April 5, 2018 at 9:23 amLord let there be no soil You’ve not tilled in my heart. Show me how to make my faith bloom and produce fruit! Amen! Beautiful post!
Diana
April 5, 2018 at 9:32 amAmen ! I absolutely love this prayer Liz! So glad you stopped by to comment
Karen Friday
April 5, 2018 at 9:26 amFresh insight, Diana. Love all the ways to spring clean our hearts and love the tweets. This…”Should our winter experiences continue to make us inactive, and bundled up in a defense mode? NO! Let us instead spring clean our heart today.” Amen!
Diana
April 5, 2018 at 9:33 amWinter experiences tend to make me all bundled up unwilling to strip away the sins that have easily beset me . Thank you for stopping by today.
Diana
April 5, 2018 at 10:35 amBeak, getting rid of the trash is one are I struggle with as well. Every time I think I am over that hurt , it keeps coming back . So glad to know that I am not alone . Thank you for your love
Lisa notes
April 5, 2018 at 1:03 pmYou’re reminding me that I need to be outside cleaning up my flower beds. 🙂 But not today. It’s still too cold. As far as my heart, the tip that related most to me in this season is the one about barriers. I definitely need to guard my time and energy and use it wisely. Thanks, Diana!
Diana
April 5, 2018 at 1:06 pmIt’s so cold in my state too:) Yes, those barriers are so needful for me as well
~ linda
April 6, 2018 at 12:14 amCleaning my heart…it so needs that all the time, and bits grow back and need it again. I think the pruning is tough because I do not want to do that part, but I also do not want anyone else to do it so things grow unchecked for too long. I am in a place where the Lord is growing me by leaps and bounds through a hard life/death circumstance with my husband being diagnosed with terminal cancer. We are walking this together with the Lord. He has given us such peace…the peace that truly passes ALL understanding. Your post is really fine, Diana. Once we all need to read and reread.
Diana
April 6, 2018 at 12:52 amI am truly sorry to hear to hear about your husband ‘s illness . I am so comforted to hear that the Lord is filling your lives with peace . The peace that only the Lord can give , the healing the Lord can provide . I will be saying a prayer for you and your husband tonight . Thank you for stopping by here today. Your comment truly humbled me
Spring Cleaning our Hearts
April 13, 2018 at 5:56 am[…] Has the urge to spring clean hit you? It always feels great to do some deep cleaning and purging of things that we don’t need anymore, doesn’t it? Just as we spring clean our homes and our gardens, we need to do some spring cleaning of our hearts. This week, Diana shared 6 ways that we can spring clean the garden of our hearts. […]
KellyRBaker
April 13, 2018 at 8:07 amYes to this! Psalm 1:1-3 is my favorite passage. You hit the nail on the head with all these points! Pinned and sharing on twitter. 🙂
Kristi Woods
April 13, 2018 at 9:28 amLove the analogies in this, Diana. It’s true – our spiritual lives need pruning, weeding, and consideration of location – and more. Enjoyed the visit and your writing – as always – today via #faithonfire