“We absolutely need to mulch,” Sheri said.

We are the biggest gardening losers ever.   For one thing, we hate gardening.   When we first moved into our home in Etters, we noticed a fairly big back yard.   We thought it was the perfect place for a garden, and it is.   So, with Sheri's dad's help we skimmed off the top layer of soil and grass, and we put in a garden big enough for lots of veggies.   And of course, we would eat what we planted.   So then there came peat moss, composted leaves, tilling, the whole nine yards.   We had the makings of a good garden.   We put in tomatoes, cages for them, carrots, potatoes, onions, and all kinds of other stuff.   Much of it came up.   We weeded.   We harvested.   We even ate.   And then we debriefed.   As it turned out, we hated every step except the eating.   You can do that step after visits to the local fruit stand!   And so we vowed that we would do as little gardening as possible in our future.   That's one vow we have kept.

We mulch about every three years, we allow Sheri's parents to plant veggies in our garden as a service to our kids, and other than that our garden is a burning pile for the leaves we collect in the fall.   Lots and lots of leaves.   I think it's generous to even call it a garden.   But we do have some flower beds, and those we try to maintain, at least to keep our embarrassment to a minimum.   Hence the mulch.  

That's why it's funny to say we absolutely need to mulch.   She's right, but it's still funny.

So it got me thinking about what I absolutely must do.   What is actually essential to life?   And how much of it do I actually do?

Of course, there's the physical stuff, such as air, water, and food.   But I am more than a body.   My spirit needs nutrition, too.   I need to spend some time each day feeding my soul with God's word.   There's power in the scriptures.   I also need to open my heart to God through thorough, uninterrupted prayer.   Sure, it's good to pray small prayers throughout the day, but we all need to give God some uninterrupted time so He can draw close to us as to a friend.   And He will if we let Him.   I also need exercise so my body stays in good working condition, and likewise I need to exercise my spirit by seeing to the tasks God has assigned me.   I need to flex my relational muscles by caring for my wife and kids, as well as my friends and the people I meet in my daily encounters.   I need to be good to those who are close to me.   And I need to follow my path that God has ordained for my life, which is at this time being a musician.  

All the other stuff, which I confess usually dominates my day, is actually not that essential, when you think about it.   My deck is going to be in just as much need to be cleaned and treated tomorrow.   The lawn will still be there.   My golf game will be just as pathetic tomorrow.   My favorite TV shows will likely not go off the air because I don't tune in.   I can get to those things later.   But do I give first priority to those secondary things, rather than that which is really most important?   Alas, I do.   I may SAY that the important things are most important, but what does my life actually show?   If someone kept a log of my minutes spent thinking and doing the various things in my life, what would it show are really the most important things to me?   And am I willing to adjust my priorities to give attention to what really matters most?  

For me, I assure you, it isn't mulch!

God bless you and me as we try to show in our lives what we really hold as most important.

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