Are You a Bulldozer or a Landscaper?

I love when God wants to get a point across in my life and speaks so clearly I feel as if He is in the room. Usually this happens when I am exhausted at the end of the day. I get comfortable in bed, find just the right spot on the pillow, close my eyes, start to drift off…then… BOOM, God speaks! This has happened three separate times, each with the same exact jolt to my senses just before falling asleep, and each with a different message. I am very grateful for this clarity, but very jolted every time…must be a "PAY ATTENTION-alarm clock" from God. This particular time, God asked me if I was living my life as a bulldozer, ripping at the things and people around me leaving destruction in my path, or if I was living my life as a landscaper, leaving the places I come from better than they were before.

Honestly, I have been living more like a bulldozer lately than a landscaper. Trust me, God reminded me of every bulldozing situation like a trailer for a movie…the highlights of my destruction. It was horrible and painful to watch. I also saw that for me, living like a landscaper would take incredible strength, strength that I do not possess. A landscaper would have something to leave behind, something that is beautiful, pristine, and something that will last.

So, how do I become a landscaper? I have no strength for the job. I have little talent or skill for such a job. Even if I relied on my own capabilities and tried to landscape, it would be so artificial that underneath, the land would rot away and my attempt would be futile. My initial remorse quickly turned to denial, defensiveness, and finally I was convincing myself to give up, shouting FAILURE, you will always be a bulldozer. You are not fit for the job, so just go on, forget landscaping and do what you do best which is living for yourself.

When you have a moment like this with God, it's not a matter of being suitable, but being called. God provides strength. He provides opportunities and puts those skills to the test. God will mold us and he will shape us to be more like Christ. He will have harvest from the land that he has sown. Christ will be glorified and that is God’s promise.

My challenge is to let God be in control, use me as a landscaper and for this to glorify Jesus, the perfect landscaper. By his grace, by him alone will I be successful in this calling. Please pray for this. I need it! Also, pray that God reveals areas in your life where there is a need for some landscaping.

BE A LANDSCAPER!

-Kristina