Obtaining the Blessing

     God often uses physical scenarios to try and reveal spiritual truths to me. He did that this morning. Since I had been visiting a friend in another state for about a week, and it had been raining non-stop at my home, when I got back, the grass had taken over my flower beds.
     While having coffee this morning, I was thinking of the water-logged soil, and how easy it would be to weed the garden. So, before breakfast, I got on some garden clothes, and pursued to prove my theory. Sure enough, the deep-rooted grass came out without much effort.
     I felt very blessed that God would use the rain to soften the soil, so that I could weed the garden easily so the grass wouldn't take over my flowers just for my benefit.
      Some may think God doesn't care about us to delight our hearts like that, but I do. Some may see controversy in the situation thinking the rain may have "blessed" me, but it may have caused problems for someone else. Well, I don't have an answer for that, but I can be assured that whatever God decides is just, good and right. Whether He gives or takes away, He is God and He is good. I must believe that for you, but also for me when it seems like I am getting forgotten. I know I am not. I just don't understand at times.
     While I was weeding, I began to understand more fully about harvesting the blessings God sets before us. Here was an opportunity to get something I desired accomplished. God provision would make it easy for me to do, but I had to do it. So, as I set out, I found that I had to perservere to "take the land" so to speak. Then I was reminded about the promised land of plenty and how the Israelites had to do the same. They had to keep on.
     When I got into a fire ant bed, and the enemy was biting me, I had to fight back. I brushed them off of my arms, but kept going to complete the goal. Even though my arms were hurting, I didn't let the pain and itching stop me. Like the Israelites when they followed through and listened to God's leading, they possesed the land, or their inherited blessing.
     It may be a stretch to use this analogy, but aren't the same components present in both cases? There is a blessing to receive, a surrendering to action to obtain, a fighting with an enemy, and a perserverance to keep going.
     God has blessed me, and after going through the process to receive it, I can say, "It is mine." What a satisfying feeling!  Working together with God is awesome and wondrous.