How does one LOSE a row of sprinklers?? I don't mean the sprinkler heads one finds on plumbing shelves at the hardware store, but the ones IN THE GROUND, the ones with running water through the pipes which are supposed to water the lawn?!?
Turning the water on to locate the sprinkler heads seemed like a logical way to find them. Wouldn't you think that would work? Well, it didn't: Water simply pooled on the sidewalk, but the source was untraceable...It looked like the grass itself was gushing water!
At a loss for what else to do, I took a hand trowel and started digging around the edges of the lawn to try to find the hidden wells. I knew they were there, and clearly there was water gushing to the surface! The water had to be turned off or the sidewalk would flood quickly, so I walked back and forth from the control valves to turn the water off and on, digging a few inches at a time. A slow, messy process it was: It looked like a crazed rototiller had gotten loose on the lawn! Finally the sprinkler heads emerged, and I dug deep semicircles around them in the mud, where deep rooted grasses and weeds had taken hold. Did I mention it was slow and messy?
Obviously it had taken a long time for these grasses and weeds to build their roots like thatch around the rich soil surrounding the sprinklers. And anything that takes that long to grow, will require HARD, MESSY work to tear down...Did I mention HARD, sticky, dirty work?
More lessons in God's garden: Dense roots and weeds had covered up the source of water, creating hidden wells, just as quietly invasive 'roots and weeds' of many sorts can subtly overtake the soul when neglect fails to keep the edges around it clear: Too tired at night to pray....Didn't sleep so well and decided to sleep in and now have to rush....List of things to check off the list...Where is prayer? Where is time to hear God's Word? Where is time to notice the beauty of the day? Time to consider the gift of this day? Time to pray for whatever the day might hold? Time to thank God, and to ask for His blessing for the next 15 hours? And time to consider the many whose lives might be drastically different from mine and who need to be remembered in prayer? I went to sleep and nothing disastrous happened at night...woke up in my own bed and everything was as I left it the night before....Time to consider and say thank You?
In my case, fear and anxiety can quickly form dense roots and weeds around my soul. They choke the life-giving sprinkler heads that spurt water up and above the grass line to reach far out on the lawn and keep it fed and nurtured. Thankfully, just like the sprinkler pipes that the roots and weeds did not penetrate, the communication lines to God are not damaged, and He faithfully waits for me to turn to Him. Just like the cleared semicircle holding the weeds at bay around the now cleared sprinkler heads, daily time with God is life-giving and nurturing...And now, every once in a while, I remember to go and check the sprinkler heads to make sure they are still clear, and pray as I check them, and pray as I walk back to the house, and pray to remember....
This is lovely, Mama! I especially like the image of a clear sprinkler head being able to reach wide sections of grass with water. When we take that quiet margin time with God, we're that much more effective in spreading His love and grace to other people. Thanks for digging and thinking and writing this :)
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