
I’ve been working on the fence-line, it feels like all the live long day! It’s a never ending challenge of fencing, cleaning out the underbrush and keeping out trees, briars, thistles and that pesky multiflora rose. It seems like super thorny, flesh tearing things flourish best under the fence row which makes removal hazardous and labor intensive, if you let them get out of hand. Fence line brush, the majority of which is multiflora rose (which by the way is not native to the United States, eastern Asia sent it to us, thanks) is fast growing, and one plant can grow about 1-2 feet a week, and can grow 16-20 feet big, if you let it get out of hand.
Anyway, I’ve been working on it, all the live long day. One long side completed, about 12 more sides of inner and outer fence to do and then the task will be completed. The task seems never-ending and if I look at what still needs to be done versus how beautiful the done is, it crushes the spirit. But, it must be done.
One of the most important things about cleaning up the fence-line is having the right tools for the job. In one week, the truck (my brush hauler) died, my chainsaw trigger broke, my row hoe broke off the pole, my weed whacker ran out of string. Those were just a few challenges I ran into trying to clean up the brush, in addition to time and weather. But, it must be done.
And the most important reason it must be done is because the brush is destructive. Left unattended (which I did a little longer than I should have), the brush will grow making the fence invisible, popping nails and screws and displacing boards, making the fence meant to keep things in completely useless. And, it is beautiful when it is done.
Unfortunately, there really is no good approach to brush removal other than slapping on some leather gloves and body armor to protect from the thorns, and just getting to it. There is no easy way to get rid of the brush. Sure, there are herbicides, but, believe it or not, some of this brush is immune to the most lethal. The most effective removal technique is good old fashioned, backbreaking, manual labor, putting hands to tools. But, it must be done.
When I stood back and looked at this long side, as difficult as it was to complete, I thought – if only I could clean the multiflora rose out of my own life that easily. You see, I have some invasive species in my life. You may be thinking you do too. Thoughts, feelings, anxieties, confusion, fears, dependencies, busyness, relationships, habits, people, things. The list of things in my life I need to take my loppers to reminds me of my untended fence-line — full of underbrush overgrowth. Some of the things I can snip with my shears or lop with my loppers, but for most things I need heavy equipment — chainsaw, brush cutter, sawzall. But, it must be done.
Here’s the thing, there are a few things in my life that I am capable of handling with a little discipline. There are thoughts, attitudes, and actions I can easily nip in the bud as Barney Fife would say. But most things in my life need heavy equipment. To kill the fence-line brush in my life, I need a whole lot more power and strength than I can muster on my own or that an ineffective herbicide can handle. I need Holy Spirit power!
Just like my lack of discipline in keeping up with the fence-line has led to an invasion of nonnative junk brush that will take quite some time to remove, the same thing can happen in our Spiritual lives. When we neglect our relationship with Jesus, the one with the power tools, we are going to get tangled up in the thorns of life, those vines and thorns and thistles that will surround us and destroy us. It happens very subtly. A weed here, and a poison vine there, and before we know it we’re completely surrounded and the fence-line that needs to be cleared is 16 feet tall and seems completely insurmountable and in our strength, it is. We need the Holy Spirit power!
When we open the Word of God, when we speak to Him in prayer, when we surrender our thorny lives daily (because the brush grows back quickly) to Him, to the One with the Almighty Power, if we’re willing, He will begin to clip away at the things in our lives that are destructive. He may not pull out all the brush at one time, He may take a section of fence-line at a time.
When we call upon the Holy Spirit, even when it seems there is no way out, little by little we will see brush removed, thorny branches lopped, healing balm placed on the places the briars have torn, and a beautiful fence-line will emerge.
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 1:19-20