Hügelkultur and Humility…

Published by christi on August 25, 2022

Yes, again…

So, I finished the hügelkultur pit; the brush pile has been reduced to a flat patch of ground covered with twigs and grass. Not a thing of beauty by any means, but at least unobtrusive and less obnoxious. It no longer looks out of control or dangerous. I was pretty proud of what I had accomplished.

Then, I noticed all the trees on my property that have dead branches that need to be removed…SIGH…more junk for the brush pile… (I thought I was done! How embarrassing!)

This is like the work of God in our lives. We think we have one sin, one ugly trait, dealt with and –wait a minute — there is another! Or maybe just more of the same! Just when I think I am “better” in one area, I see another place where I am not even close to being like Jesus!

Or I deal with my guilt and make my apologies to those I have offended, get washed clean by Jesus, and moments later find I have indulged that same sinful desire in another area! ARRRGHH!

It’s okay.

I mean, it’s not really okay, it’s just expected. And needs to be accepted (by me, anyhow) as reality. I am not perfect. Growing, yes. Finished, hardly! A mess? Definitely!

Is it something of which I should be ashamed or discouraged? OR…is it just more fodder for another hügelkultur pit!? There is so much more dead stuff in me that needs to be cut off, chopped up and buried in compost and dirt, so that the life of Jesus can show in me! So I can bear the fruit He desires!

This is especially true of the fruit of humility, which Jesus offers to teach us when we are weary (finally) of trying to be good enough on our own and weighed down with our guilt and failure. (He offers to teach it to us always, but those are the only times we are even close to being willing to learn.) And, learning humility has a reputation for being impossible: as soon as you think you’ve got it, you’re proud of it!

So a lot of us have given up. Humility is just not a thing. Or we have been misled to believe that humility equals hating oneself. Jesus clearly did not hate himself.

Humility is, in part, giving up telling God how to run my life, recognizing I can’t do it, nor is it my place to do so! I was designed to be ruled by God, to depend on Him and His strength for all I do, every moment.

So, Papa-God, let the chopping and digging continue! I am

Following Jesus every day in the everyday,

Christi