Fall Chores
I love when the weather starts to cool down after a hot summer. Seeing the trees turn their beautiful colors makes me stop in my tracks. I am a fan of the bright red ones. Watching the leaves fall from the trees is like watching snow fall on a cold winter day. Naturally, all those leaves will need to raked and picked up, but for the moment I want to enjoy their beauty.
Fall’s arrival means that there are plenty of chores that need to be done in preparation for winter. My wife’s plants need to come into the garage. I took care of that one right before the recent cold snap. The garage needs cleaning and straightening before the plants come in, which is a chore that I don’t like. Actually, I prefer bringing the plants out in spring versus putting them in the garage in the fall.
The recent cold snap finished the growing season in the garden. I cleaned up the debris from the remaining vegetables. I found a small mess of butter beans. I also dug up my sweet potatoes. I harvested the only sunflower that I got to grow. I also picked what I thought would be the last of the tomatoes. To my surprise one of my cherry tomato plants survived the cold and is blooming again. Could we be in for some Christmas tomatoes?
After getting the garden all cleaned up, I started collecting the leaves. I like to put the leaves in the garden. It helps keep the weeds down and provides a great place for the worms to live. I will continue gathering the leaves over the next couple of weeks and putting them in the garden. It adds so much to the soil. I haven’t cleaned the gutters yet, which are overflowing with leaves.
There are more chores to do outside including trimming a few trees, cleaning up some limbs, and weeding. I am also working on doing a little painting. When you think about it, outside chores never seem to be complete. There is always something needing attention no matter what season of the year. I prefer working outside in the cooler fall and spring weather.
Many people approach tending to their spiritual lives like doing chores. I have to read three chapters from the Bible. I need to pray for everyone on my prayer list. I must watch some preachers on TV. And when they get their list of spiritual chores done, they sigh with relief. It is important to read our Bibles and to pray, in fact, I would say it is vital to good spiritual health. But I don’t think God wants us to approach it like a ritual or a requirement that must be completed daily. When we think of God that way He becomes a task master, someone who demands we perform our daily duties. God does not want us to view Him that way.
I believe God wants us to view our interaction with Him as a relationship. He wants us to connect with Him on a personal level. Instead of praying at Him, He would prefer that we talk with Him. Prayer should be a conversation with God. Naturally, there are times of intense prayer, but on the day-to-day basis I think He wants us to talk with Him like we were talking with our best friend.
When we read our Bible He doesn’t want us to approach it like a homework assignment that we are dreading to get done. Instead I believe God wants us to approach reading our Bible like reading a love letter written personally to us. The Bible is full of so many promises and God wants us to take those personally. It is full of encouraging and positive things that can help us in our daily lives. It is also filled with hidden treasures about who God is and how much He loves each one of us. I see different things each time I read a specific passage of scripture. The Word of God is alive and active and anointed by the Holy Spirit for us.
I want to encourage you to stop looking at your relationship with God as an obligation and consider it as a personal and intimate connection to the creator of the universe. He made you and wants you to get to know Him. He loves you and longs to talk with you. Imagine that, God longs to connect with you. Yes, He is God almighty but He wants to be your friend. Open your heart and build a relationship with a living, loving, and caring Father and friend.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
