Metal hit rock and broke dirt as I dug up the ground, preparing it for seed.

“Dig up your fallow ground” 

I paused for a split second, and then continued to dig;

Those words came into my thoughts out of nowhere with beautiful clarity and decided to hit replay in my brain.

Hmmmm…. I pondered upon them as I continued to tear out the grass. 

I knew those words came somewhere from the Bible… spoken by YHWH to the Israelites, warning them to turn from their wicked ways before they brought destruction upon themselves.

Cool. I didn’t give it another thought.

I continued to work on the garden through the week, tilling untamed ground, conquering the land, basking in the feel of fresh dirt and sun.

(as a side note… ‘burrowing’ into the ground with a shovel is one of my favorite activities, I love it, solely for the satisfaction of digging J )

One evening, as I tore up my stubborn ground, those same words came unannounced, once again, into my thoughts.  

And then… it began to rain.

Those rejuvenating drops of cool refreshment like a cool mist over my aching body; invigorated, I shoved that shovel deeper into the ground, working now with renewed determination under the joy of pouring rain.

Mud, sweat, and water

Dripped off of me into the dirt

...and I felt incredibly alive.

After I dug up an entire garden plot and then some, I washed up and went inside.

I needed to look up those words; as I did, I sat there, kinda stupified.

Sow for yourselves righteousness;

reap steadfast love;

break up your fallow ground,

for it is the time to seek the Lord,

that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

Hosea 10:12

Break up your fallow ground… that he may come and rain righteousness

Wow!!!

I couldn’t have experienced a more concrete example of this verse, I had worked all week breaking up that hardened ground into mounds of fresh, beautiful, tilled dirt…

and then came the rain!

Amazing.

Was YHWH telling me something?

I looked at the action words in those verses…

“Sow righteousness…

break up your fallow ground

seek the Lord”

The Lord brought to mind something he told me a few months prior; words He had spoken to the Israelites in the distant past…

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

I could not let these pass me by.
Jesus had my attention now, and I needed to listen.
I’ve been wrestling with God for a while over several issues… wrestling and wrestling, and wrestling some more.

Seeking answers, finding none, and settling into a tumultuous storm of confusion;
yet God is not the author of confusion… but rather, of a sound mind.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:5

As a side note, it is a sound and firm mind I seek. Decision-making skills have forever eluded me; It’s an area I struggle with, an area I'm trying to conquer.

The next evening as I spoke with dad, I discovered he had been fasting, and was doing so for seven days. He talked about it casually, and I was surprised… I hadn’t a clue.

The next morning, on the spur of the moment, I decided a good step toward breaking up my fallow ground and seeking the Lord was to give up my daily comfort of food for a few days and seek seriously the heart of my Father.

So I did.

… and it was unbelievably worth it.

  

Break up your fallow ground

for it is time to seek the Lord

that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.