Good Soil is Dirty

Home for the weekend and my mom wanted her yard cleaned and if y’all know me, well most of you don’t. Ehem… Mmmkay, so, my name is Alecia M. White, and I hate dirt.

Like, I don’t do yard work, plant flowers, or keep plants in my house. Bugs, insects, and worms are enemies of mine. I have seasonal allergies and my insides itch at the thought of being outside for extended periods of time.

But well, you know, my momma wanted me to help her, so I sucked it up, took my allergy pill (brief praise break to celebrate the creator of such a pill), and got my tail out there in that yard.

I was brave, y’all – I didn’t complain, and I was out there for three hours.

So, as we were moving stuff around, I began to step into more and more dirt and it had rained, so there was rainwater in a couple of empty flower pots that had been sitting in the yard. As I poured the water out, I noticed how dark the mud was and I looked at my mom and said, “You have good dirt out here.”

Now, I took notice because the soil outside my parent’s home is pretty dark, and it isn’t dry like some in yards I’ve seen, and not just as you dig, but on the surface as well. It reminded me of the bagged soil that you’d go purchase in order to plant a garden, like, we could’ve probably planted flowers right then and there.

Good Soil is Necessary

As I continued to help clean the yard, I began to think more about this “good soil” and how we all need some.

What I mean is, we always talk about the rain that is needed for flowers to grow, both literally and figuratively. In life, we discuss how we can’t get where we are meant to be without a little “rain” and a storm or two – and then comes the rainbow.

Well, we hardly ever talk about the dirt that is necessary in order to plant these “flowers”.

Yes, water is good, but dirt is also necessary. We often shun the “dirty” things that happen to us and write them off, but sometimes we fail to realize that if we hadn’t experienced those things, we couldn’t reach the heights that we have gotten to.

Our PlayBook says in 1 Peter 4:12, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:” That “fiery trial” is that dirt that you need to grow. Verse 13 goes on to say “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

You see, the water is the topper, but you must first be planted, covered… in dirt.

SO, WHAT’S THE PLAY CALL?

Yes, it’s hard being dirty – especially for long periods of time. I think of myself in the summer heat after a long day – a shower is all I want! And maybe that’s why we try to overlook the “dirt” – because we just want that rainwater to wash us clean. I know you want to hurry and break free of the dirt you’re buried in, but here are a few things to help as you are “planted”:

1. Ask God to clean you up. Yep, we all have things that we must be cleansed from. We all have our own reasons that we need a little extra rainwater, and it’s okay to admit that to Christ. He is waiting for you to accept what He has to offer. “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalms 51:10.
2. Remember that if God allows it, it’s “good dirt”. No, I’m not talking about that mess that you happened upon because you were hanging around the wrong crowd. I mean those rough patches in life that you cannot seem to explain. They teach you things you would’ve never learned on your own – that’s good dirt. Recall our scripture in 1 Peter, “think it not strange.”
3. It’s okay to let God’s joy overtake you, even when you seem to be “buried” and you cannot yet feel the water breaking through. “But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.” Psalms 68:3.

Know that when you are doing all that you can, God sees you and He hears your cries. He just needs for you to be covered in “good dirt” so that He can “reign” over your life.