As I was out on this cool, cloudy 60 degree morning feeding animals and checking on my vegetable plants I glanced over at one of my (previously) favorite garden beds. It is choked with weeds, random tramples where the grand-girls have played hide and seek and just basic winter neglect. I started weeding a couple of weeks ago, but severe allergies took over so I limited my time outside to minimal things needed to get my tomatoes and peppers planted and a few other necessary chores. With just a bit of rain, beautiful sunny days and mild temps the flower bed is a cacophony of WEEDS! But look a bit closer - my dianthus, Gerbera daisies and lilies are poking through. In another section my purple wandering jew, fragrant spearmint and my other flowering shrub are poking out. They also have enjoyed the sun, rain and temps. If I can get past the swollen eyes, and perpetual dripping nose I may actually get out there and tackle the weeds!
Now is a good time to pull the tender weeds My husband is more inclined to weed whack or mow them down "they are green you know". But the weeds then continue to compete for nourishment with the good plants that are there. With just a little time and effort I can have this messy bed back to one of the prettiest places in the yard, but it probably won't be today!
I got to thinking about how we let the weeds in life choke out our beauty too. The kindness, compassion, love and generosity is present within us yet we allow (or at least I do) anger, sadness, disappointment, worry and fear take hold and crowd out the beauty. Why is it that we often give in to those weeds or just temporarily mow them down rather than make the extra effort to PULL THEM - rid ourselves of them, even though we know they aggressively come back? Just like in gardening, dealing with our emotional weeds is hard, tiring and seems never ending. If you are like me, it sometimes seems easier to just allow the weeds to take over - they are so strong and seem too hard to remove. But thankfully the beauty usually wins out! It may take a long time, it may look different once the weeds are pulled out, but it is so worth the effort. When I finally tackle that weed bed I know there will be dirt, probably bugs, stickers and cracked hands. The result, however, will be a flower bed of fragrant blooms, favorite herbs and food for hummers and butterflies. Nourishment for sight and soul.
That is how it goes with weeding our hearts too. The hard part of getting started is so worth the result. Pulling the weeds of things we let fester gives way to the beauty of peace, healing relationships and love. I know I won't tackle that weed bed today - my puffy allergy eyes just can't take it quite yet. So today I will tackle some more weeds in my emotional flower bed, looking for the beauty that I know is there. What weed bed will you clean today?
1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart".
No comments:
Post a Comment