“Outside the sky is a brilliant spring blue, the sun lighting up the city in bright white and the cool breeze reminding us all that winter hasn’t fully passed yet even as the seasons ready themselves to turn.” – Joy Attmore.

The above words, written on my friend’s blog, grabbed my attention.

Lately, I have been writing about going through a spiritual season change. I never thought to consider how the U.K is momentarily going through a physical season change.

Here in England, winter is turning to spring. Daffodils are in bloom; specks of bright yellow brightening our streets, roadsides and school gardens.

Still, bitter winds are still present.

Today, my swollen hands cried out for wooly gloves, as I pushed my youngest daughter’s pram home from our local library. Just seven days ago, I was sitting in my sun-drenched garden with her – no gloves, coats or scarves necessary!

We are in transition. Edging into springtime, but not yet relaxed into this new season.

Last week, I went outside and did some gardening.

I am new to gardening and quickly discovered that “gardening” is a posh way of saying “I spent time picking up loads of dead things (leaves) and ugly things (weeds).”

Simply put; I removed remnants of winter from my garden.

Anything that was broken, brown and lifeless was picked up, swept away and discarded. Anything that threatened to destroy the growth of my pretty flowers was dug up, pulled out and thrown away.

In Joshua 11, we read about Josh – the captain of God’s army, at that time in history – defeating a bunch of kings, who were dead set on defeating Josh and God’s people.

At this point, Joshua was in a time of transition. He had seen signs of victory; He had defeated several armies, thus far. Josh had tasted food from God’s promised land. He had even taken plunder.

God tells Joshua exactly how to get rid of these kings and fully conquer His promised land. The Bible tells us that Joshua did “As the Lord had commanded,” (Joshua 11:15) and “ totally destroyed them” (Joshua 11: 12.)

Joshua left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded.

Woah.

Amidst pulling dead leaves and uprooting prickly weeds, I realised that as God is spiritually taking me into a new season, He is asking me to completely remove anything that would threaten to take attention away from what he is about to do, in my life.

That is hard work. A bit like gardening. Sometimes, I don’t know whether I am lifting up a weed or destroying a healthy plant.

I have chosen to yank up plants that others would call beautiful, yet they are not quite right for my garden. Ivy, for instance, may look pretty, but it ruins my wall structure… so I made the choice to remove it. Hardy geraniums are a lovely, bright purple colour… but as a result of this fast-spreading plant, too many bees overwhelmed my small garden (and caused chaos amongst my three little kids!)

What I am trying to say: There will be things that look appealing for your next season, but is God really telling you to keep, or water, those things?

I also think God is saying that some seemingly beautiful things might be growing in the wrong place. Maybe they are for another place, or another time in your life. Just because it looks pretty, doesn’t mean it is meant for now.

When we read about Joshua defeating Northern kings, we discover that Joshua was fighting for five whole years with these guys. Five years of nearly-at-God’s-promise-but-not-quite-there-yet.

After five years – things finally changed. The Bible tells us that the land finally had rest from war.

But before that rest, Joshua did something – he split the land into territories and gave it to the tribes of Israel. He gave land to God’s people.

Did you get that? He was able to give something.

If we don’t do exactly as God says, if we don’t uproot what he wants us to uproot, we won’t have anything left to give. But Josh kept God’s instruction and timing, so – as a result – he was able to pass on a generous victory. He was given success that was made to be shared.

I want that.

I really, really want that.

• I want to be a mum that sets my kids (and their kids) up for a level of freedom and victory that is way better than anything I have tasted.
• I want to be a leader that positions and equips other leaders to thrive.
• I want to leave a legacy in work, always able to bless whoever comes next.

I think of this verse in Matthew:

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Matthew 16:26, AMP.

Note, it doesn’t say what will a man get in exchange for his soul? It is not a normal transaction. It is giving all of your time and energy and losing your soul, in the process… There is NO profit!

Honestly, this is quite a shocking verse for me. Sobering, in fact.

In order to hand over a generous victory and leave a great legacy, you and I need to be obedient in the season change.

We need clarity and we need to do the hard work of gardening: Pulling out those things that are lifeless and watering where God wants us to. Though it may be tricky now, we can look to Joshua’s example for inspiration and future hope. Don’t miss this vital step, as you enter a new season.

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Additional note: I wrote most of this blog in March!

As I sat in my garden today (May), I noticed those aforementioned rose buds are now in full bloom. I have never seen so many roses on this rose bush before. It is extraordinary. They are massive, pink fluffy roses – almost like peonies – in blush pink.

Tapping my keyboard with at least 40 beautiful full-bloom rose heads in vision, I can feel God’s presence. In the past two months, I have begun the work of pulling things out of my life that were great – but they were not what God had for me.

I look at the roses and wonder if they are so beautiful because they now stand alone. The nutritious soil is theirs for the taking. No weeds or hardy geraniums now compete.

I sense God saying that I am to bloom like that rose. Not by anything I have done, but because I was obedient and did the hard work of de-weeding anything that was not supposed to come with me in this next time period of life. I have been diligent to seek clarity and focus attention on what God has, as this next step approaches.

I wanted to write this note to let you know – you can bloom too!

It is going to be so beautiful once the hard work is done! You have never seen as much beauty before. The effort you put in does not compare with His resulting splendour.

Keep going and let me know of any breakthroughs in the comments below.