The Ministry of Weed Pulling

Anyone who knows me, knows that gardening is not my thing.   I do love gardens and am captivated by how they grow...I'm just not very good at it.   My family, on the other hand, is full of wonderful gardeners.   Just after Jeff passed away, my mother and my sister decided it was time for my yard to have some life to it.   They came over and planted beautiful plants in my flower gardens (that were pretty much just dirt at the time), and gave me instructions on how to "not kill" the pretty flowers.   All my friends were certain that this was an effort in futility and the plants would soon be dead.   I had to agree with my friends.   But for some reason Mom and Christie believed in me.

Nearly six months later, that garden is still blooming and growing!  Believe me, no one is more surprised than I am!!!   I have to thank our friend, Ronnie, for coming over and checking my irrigation system and actually setting a timer so the plants to get watered a couple of times a day.   Now, every time I step out of my front door, I get to see pretty flowers...what joy it brings me.

But along with those flowers come other unwanted visitors.   There are insects (that I'm learning to appreciate) and nasty weeds (that I loathe).  My friend, Chris (whose garden is AMAZING...she like even grows food in hers!), came by to visit one day and when I opened the door, she was pulling a weed from my garden.   She apologized and told she just couldn't help herself...weeds drive her nuts.   It didn't bother me a bit!   She went on to say that she found weed pulling to be therapeutic and that she actually enjoyed it.  Odd.   How could someone ENJOY pulling weeds? It made no sense to me.

Well, time has passed and though my garden is still growing well, so are the weeds.   At first, it was just a few along the edge of the sidewalk...then more and different kinds began to grow.  Yesterday, as I walked past my garden, I realized that it was becoming more difficult to identify the weeds from the flowers.

Sin is that way.   If we ignore it, it doesn't stop growing.  No, instead it takes root and sprouts up in new places.   Eventually, it will rise up and choke out everything good in our lives...and it will become harder to identify (because we become numb to it).    It must be "weeded" from our lives on a daily basis.

My first attempt at pulling weeds was a failure.   I waited until the hottest part of the day and became frustrated very quickly when the weeds would not come up.   I was hot, defeated and worst of all, still had a garden full of weeds.  I then remembered something my friend told me, it's easier to weed when the soil is soft.   Right after a rain (or after the sprinkler system has cycled) is the best time to weed.  So this morning, as I walked by the bed, I noticed that ground was wet...I stopped and pulled a weed. It came out with ease.   Before I knew it, I had pulled all the weeds out of that bed.  My hands were dirty, but the weeds were out and my garden was healthier for it.

It was in the middle of that weed pulling venture that God spoke truth to me.   I don't know if you caught it, but I've already said, "weeds are easier to pull when the soil is soft".   Rain softens soil, a sprinkler system softens soil...and I realized this morning, tears soften soil as well.  When the soil of my life has hardened (by the pressures and exposure that this life brings) and weeds have taken root, sometimes God will allow an unexpected storm to come along and soften our soil.   It is not meant to harm us...it comes to soften us.   The same rain that softens the soil so that weeds can be more easily removed, brings nourishment to the plants.   The same tears that soften my heart so that sin can be more easily uprooted, will bring growth and fruit that is good.

I learned a couple of other things this morning about weeds.   1) Younger weeds are easier to pull than those that have been ignored for months...uproot sin early, don't let it take root.  This is especially true with offense.  If you let it take root, it will quickly turn to bitterness, then hatred...and then it is not so easily uprooted.   Deal with sin as soon as you recognize it...it will be much easier.  2) When pulling weeds, you will get dirty.   My hands were filthy when I finished...and bleeding in a couple places where a thorn got me.    Don't expect it to look pretty when your pulling the "weeds" in your life.   If you are doing it right, it most likely will not look pretty.   You can always wash your hands afterward.

The hardships that I have lived through in the past couple of years made my heart hard in places.   I allowed sin to take root and hoped that if I ignored it, it would die or simply go away.   I couldn't understand, when the weeping came, that God was allowing the tears to soften the soil of my heart.   What seemed like a senseless downpour to me, was intended to soften, bring life and cleanse me so my life would be a fragrant garden.   As I pulled those weeds this morning, I thanked God for the storms that I have misunderstood.   Thank you, Lord, for loving me enough to send a storm to soften my heart.   Thank you that you do not just ignore the wrong things in my life, that you deal with them, uprooting the evil and bringing forth new life that glorifies You.   Create in me a new heart, and renew a right spirit within me.  Ps. 51:10.