The Parable of the Soil

I knew something wasn't right.

It was beautiful new topsoil. It should have been perfect. So why did things start to die? First it was my Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Gracilis' (Hinoki). Then it was my Pinus strobus 'Sea Urchin', a lovely soft long-needled pine. The final straw was when my beautiful and rare Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' shed every yellow needle and started his spring as a skeleton with candles.

There was one more clue. Something strange was growing there. Something slightly spiky. Daylily? No. Iris? No. Curious, I let it grow just to see what it was. As it developed, I became more and more aghast.

Cattails.

Let's see, where have we seen cattails before? Oh, yes. Swamps and standing water. In a panic I ran for the shovel and began the removal. I've never seen the underground part of a cattail before. It is a maze of long ugly branching roots, thick as ropes. The surgery was extensive, but the offending growths were successfully eliminated.

The problem was deeper than that, as problems usually are. Digging down through my topsoil, I came upon what seemed to be a layer of cement. But not cement, exactly. Something blue, something that refused access to the shovel. This will need a larger tool. The pickaxe began to chip away at what turned out to be six inches of solid blue clay. Below that, the hardpan.

This layer of clay holds the water. Nothing drains through. Now I know I am drowning my treasures. When the winter rains (and spring rains, and autumn rains) come, the water just sits on this layer of clay. Nice soil on the top, nasty stuff underneath. Just like people. Don't we all have stuff, sometimes nasty stuff, hidden away behind our well-kept exteriors?

"Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away..."

Matthew 13:4-6 NAS

This is a classic "BAD SOIL DAY"! It must be broken up! But how? Something drastic needs to happen. I make the call...

Now the noise has died away, the ground is fertile and deep, plants will thrive. Stillness. And I hear the garden speak again... this was a parable in the dirt. All of us have layers of clay, layers of hardpan. Perhaps resentment or unforgiveness. Perhaps a spirit of rebellion. Maybe anger or lack of gratitude. Sins of the flesh, sins of the heart, greed, selfishness, self-reliance, idolatry, unbelief, and the worst of all, pride. This list is endless, but all have one thing in common. They are hard soil that the Water of Life cannot penetrate.

Our loving Father longs to make us healthy, and sometimes He needs to apply drastic measures to re-constitute our soil. His outcome will always be blessing, health, spiritual fertility.

Help me, Lord, not to grow any cattails!