Weeds of Life

There are weeds in everyone's life. In the spring of life they start to work there way up through the soil of our years. At first it's almost inperceptible, but given time, a lot of time, they can become a jungle.

When spring arrives and the ground is still wet from all the winter rains, it's so easy to pull the weeds. They usually come up root and all. When the ground becomes dry and hard, it becomes a much more difficult task.

There seems to be a dirrect corolation to life and weeds. When the weeds in our life appear; the bad habits, those seemingly insignificant sins; it's easy to pull them up, the roots are shallow, the ground is soft. If we ignore the weeds they have time to develop root systems that can go so very deep. Some send out runners which lead to more weeds developing. Others reach the point where their seeds can be scattered with the slightest breeze or disturbance. Sin that becomes entrenched in our life is hard to battle and overcome just like the weeds. If we only realized this when we were young, our weeds wouldn't be so difficult to deal with now that age and time has allowed them to become prolific.

Sometimes what's seen on the surface conceals the deep root system that is below the ground.

There are weeds in my life that I wish I would have pulled years ago. Now the roots are deep and when they do come out it takes effort, it hurts, and it leaves a hole in my life.

Some weeds need a tool to get them out of the ground. Sometimes the weeds in our lives need some outside help for us to clear them away. This may be simply confessing and acknowledging that they exist. It may be that we need some accountability with someone to help us rid ourselves of the weed infestation. Some just need a handspade, others will need a shovel or maybe even a backhoe! It's a constant battle during the whole growing season to stay ahead of the weeds.

It's sometimes easy to mistake a weed for a wanted plant. Just recently I pulled what I thought was a weed only to discover it was a herb in my herb garden. Recognition takes experience and practice. The eyes of a master gardener pointing out the weeds can be of great help. As I've gotten older, I think I recognize more weeds in my life. I'm not as arrogant about life as I was when younger. I see things from a different perspective. I know the damage a weed does and I know the pleasure of a healthy garden. Every year I strive to be a better gardener and immulate the greatest master gardener -- my loving heavenly Father.

Challenges of Change

I've never been a big fan of change. Change usually means upsetting the balance of things. Sometimes it's okay. But sometimes it involves too much stretching physically, emotionally and becomes overwhelming. My life seems to be in the overwhelming stage right now. There's my new little granddaughter, Leah Grace, born alive and with great physical difficulties and most likely a very shortened life span. My oldest daughter leaves tomorrow for 6 months. Another daughter just moved back to the area (a good change). I'm still struggling with eye sight issues. I'm not complaining, well maybe a little, but I feel out of balance. There's a numbness that has set in like I'm watching my life instead of involved in it. I know balance will return. Sleepless nights will again become restful as I readjust to change. Often change is what spurs us on to greater growth. We learn to trust our heavenly Father more. We realize who is in charge -- and it's not us! Hopefully we become wiser and more mature. It still can be difficult -- this change. In a few weeks, no doubt, I'll have settled back to a new norm, a new routine and it will all be okay.