When I moved from Philadelphia, I never had to think much about lawn care. Even now, living in a development where the grass is cut for us, I assumed maintaining a healthy lawn would be simple. I quickly learned otherwise.
The soil in my front yard is heavily compacted. Water struggles to penetrate. Nutrients don’t always reach where they need to go. There were dead spots, bare patches from my kids constantly running across it, and areas that seemed impossible to revive.
After some research, I decided to try a lawn treatment program designed specifically for my grass type. Over time, I began to see a difference. Dead areas started growing again. New seed took root. The lawn became greener, fuller, and healthier. Yet even now, there are still a few stubborn spots that remain bare no matter how much attention they receive.
As I looked at my lawn recently, I realized how much it resembles our spiritual lives. Jesus said, “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” (Luke 8:15, NKJV) The issue with my lawn was never the seed.
The issue was the condition of the soil. The same is true spiritually. God’s Word is always good seed. The question is whether our hearts are prepared to receive it. Sometimes our hearts become hardened by disappointment, pride, fear, bitterness, or simply the pressures of life. Just as compacted soil struggles to absorb water and nutrients, hardened hearts often struggle to receive God’s truth.
The prophet Hosea challenged God’s people: “Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord.” (Hosea 10:12, NKJV) Before healthy growth could happen in my lawn, the soil had to be softened. Before spiritual growth can happen in us, God often has to work on the condition of our hearts.
What encouraged me most was seeing life return to areas that once appeared dead. God does the same thing in our lives. He restores broken places, renews what seems lost, and produces growth where we once saw only failure. Yet the stubborn bald spots remain. As Christians, we all have them. Perhaps it is a prayer that has not yet been answered, a struggle that continues to resurface, a relationship that has not been restored, or an area of spiritual growth that seems painfully slow. It is easy to become consumed by what has not changed and overlook the evidence of what God is already doing.
Paul reminds us: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3:6, NKJV) My responsibility is not to produce growth. My responsibility is to remain faithful. God’s responsibility is the increase. When I look at my lawn today, I still see a few bald spots. But I no longer see a dying lawn. I see evidence that growth is taking place. The same is true in the Christian life. We all have areas where God is still working, but if we belong to Christ, we can also see evidence of His grace, His pruning, and His growth.
So, I ask you: What bald spots in your life have caused you to lose sight of the growth God has already produced? Are you focused on what God has not done yet, or are you thanking Him for the ground He has already restored?
Frank D