Weeds
Weeds. Blech! I hate to weed. We have lived in our house for almost 5 years now, and I don't believe I have EVER seen flower beds as riddled with weeds as ours are. I'm serious. It's a constant fight to keep them at bay. I have tried weed killers, both chemical and all-natural. We have done mulch, I have tried staying on top of them by pulling them as soon as I see them. But, they just keep coming. It drives me nuts.
About 1/2 way through the summer I just stop. I stop pulling, spraying, mulching. I get tired and stop. The truth of the matter is, that I have often wondered if when I stop is that when I'm about to get ahead of them? I don't know. I haven't continued past that point yet! I stop. I stop all of my efforts. I let the weeds win. You know what happens? They take over. The thistle and crabgrass is especially bad and they infiltrate every blasted nook and cranny. Soon one can't tell where the weeds are and where the good plants are. They're there somewhere but it's hard to see for all the weeds. I come up with all sorts ofreasons excuses as to why I haven't had time to weed--too much rain, not enough rain (ground too hard), too tired, too busy, too hot, too cold. The weeds don't care, they just keep growing.
Eventually, I get tired of the mess I've allowed to develop, and I go at those darn weeds with much vim and vigor! I clear it all out. I get my spade and dig deep to get to the roots. I speak loving words of encouragement to the good plants, and tell them I'm sorry for letting them be hidden by the weeds (OK, I don't do that, though maybe I should...).
After working for several hours I look at everything I've done, and I'm so proud. All that hard work and I have nice, clean, clear flower beds once again. No more weeds. Just pretty plants. Only the things I want are there. The ickiness of the weeds are gone.
I did my weeding over the weekend. Yep, we're at that point in the summer. I weeded and cleared and then put down weed prevention stuff. I noticed my good plants are a little worse-for-the-wear. They've been nibbled on by deer and rabbits (why won't they eat the weeds????) so don't look all that great, but at least they are weed-free! I sweated, I was HOT, I got dirty, but they're all gone.
As I was weeding over the weekend I couldn't help but think about what a big correlation there is with all of this gardening stuff and our spiritual lives. The weeds would be sin. The good plants would be the fruits of the Spirit. If we're not diligent in keeping the weeds away then the fruits of the Spirit get swallowed up and hidden. They may start to get nibbled on by outside influences. If we're not careful soon our life looks more like a patch of weeds then a pretty flower bed. To clear those weeds out we sometimes need to use a "spade" and dig deep. Some of our sins are deeply rooted. We have to work hard, we have to sweat, cry, get a little dirty. But, if we work hard enough we can clear those weeds out so that the Spirit shines through. We have to do a lot of weed-prevention by praying, reading Scripture, being around other good plants. We have to pull out our weeds as soon as we see them and not let them take root and grow strong.
I don't know about you, but when people "drive" by me I'd rather them see a pretty flower garden then a garden full of weeds. Have you done some weeding lately?
About 1/2 way through the summer I just stop. I stop pulling, spraying, mulching. I get tired and stop. The truth of the matter is, that I have often wondered if when I stop is that when I'm about to get ahead of them? I don't know. I haven't continued past that point yet! I stop. I stop all of my efforts. I let the weeds win. You know what happens? They take over. The thistle and crabgrass is especially bad and they infiltrate every blasted nook and cranny. Soon one can't tell where the weeds are and where the good plants are. They're there somewhere but it's hard to see for all the weeds. I come up with all sorts of
Eventually, I get tired of the mess I've allowed to develop, and I go at those darn weeds with much vim and vigor! I clear it all out. I get my spade and dig deep to get to the roots. I speak loving words of encouragement to the good plants, and tell them I'm sorry for letting them be hidden by the weeds (OK, I don't do that, though maybe I should...).
After working for several hours I look at everything I've done, and I'm so proud. All that hard work and I have nice, clean, clear flower beds once again. No more weeds. Just pretty plants. Only the things I want are there. The ickiness of the weeds are gone.
I did my weeding over the weekend. Yep, we're at that point in the summer. I weeded and cleared and then put down weed prevention stuff. I noticed my good plants are a little worse-for-the-wear. They've been nibbled on by deer and rabbits (why won't they eat the weeds????) so don't look all that great, but at least they are weed-free! I sweated, I was HOT, I got dirty, but they're all gone.
As I was weeding over the weekend I couldn't help but think about what a big correlation there is with all of this gardening stuff and our spiritual lives. The weeds would be sin. The good plants would be the fruits of the Spirit. If we're not diligent in keeping the weeds away then the fruits of the Spirit get swallowed up and hidden. They may start to get nibbled on by outside influences. If we're not careful soon our life looks more like a patch of weeds then a pretty flower bed. To clear those weeds out we sometimes need to use a "spade" and dig deep. Some of our sins are deeply rooted. We have to work hard, we have to sweat, cry, get a little dirty. But, if we work hard enough we can clear those weeds out so that the Spirit shines through. We have to do a lot of weed-prevention by praying, reading Scripture, being around other good plants. We have to pull out our weeds as soon as we see them and not let them take root and grow strong.
I don't know about you, but when people "drive" by me I'd rather them see a pretty flower garden then a garden full of weeds. Have you done some weeding lately?
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