Short scarves and heart-gardening

My scarf is short again. Even my amazing crafting friend couldn't make the unsightly lump go away - and she spotted a stray stitch that was at risk of unravelling. So she had to undo the scarf right down to the mess, and a few rows below for good measure.

I've lost about 12 rows and I usually average 4 rows a day. That means my scarf should look like it does in the picture (hopefully sans mess) by Friday night. Not bad.

This is why I started in October.

On the way to work this morning, I was mulling over yesterday's post about 'gardening our hearts' (that sounds really twee, doesn't it?)

I'm sure many of us are aware of issues in our heart that need dealing with. But how do we begin?

Watering: Daily watering with the Word of God is essential, lest we become dried-up and vulnerable to sin. Without it we're wandering aimlessly, letting things "just happen" ... and our heart is spiritually dying. I don't know what your morning routine is like but, from personal experience, when I don't start my day with God I'm much more unfocused.

Tending: A healthy garden requires regular tending (I hang my fairweather head in shame). We need to take time to regularly assess the state of our heart. Self-reflection for the purpose of holiness is different from mere narcissism. We must get into the practice of looking back over our day, our week. Are there certain attitudes that have crept in? Are there things that we've done that we shouldn't have or have failed to do when we should?

Weeding: Focusing on one aspect of tending - are there certain influences (be it books, films, music, hobbies ... even relationships) that need to be "weeded" out of our life? Particularly in the case of relationships, this needs to be done sensitively. But it also needs to be done fully. As those who garden will know, when you weed you need to pull out the whole root. If you merely pull out the head and stalk, almost immediate growth is inevitable - the problem is still lurking beneath the surface.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and I'm sure others have done a (far) better job. But I just felt that a post exhorting us to garden our hearts should at least provide some starting points. Comments welcome, as always.