A Struggle and a Ditty

A willing spirit

but weak in flesh,

wanting to do right

but also wrong.

A mind divided in the struggle,

unable or unwilling

to determine or decide.

The wrong, it pulls

while righteousness beckons;

how to withstand the fight.

To kill the flesh,

so painful,

but to give in

is death to all that’s good

and to what brings life.

Thanks be to God in Jesus Christ our Lord!

The needed strength is grace.

Cutting off what brings death,

to fully live in the Giver of Life.

So:

Dead to sin,

cut off its boughs;

dig up its roots.

It must not grow.

Grow what’s right

in leaps and bounds,

The Gardener knows

how to cultivate his grounds.

My heart, its soil—

it needs some strength

some clearing out

of weeds at length.

Then, fresh and new,

with new seeds planted

we’ll wait to see

what summer’s granted.

To thresh and winnow

harvest’s plenty

we’ll feed the crowds,

no stomach empty.

To uproot the cause

of what’s holding you back

unleashes an outflow

of blessing intact.

Surrender your heart

it’s soil, to care.

The Gardener knows

really what’s there.