Weeds, Weeds, and More Weeds. . . with a moral :)

There was once a backyard that had weeds in it. A LOT of weeds. And that backyard was ours. Despite our best efforts to stem the flow on several occasions, they just kept growing. Like, um, weeds.

It also just so happens that both of our neighbors have a multitude of weeds in their backyards {and no fences to separate us all}, so their weed seeds were, all, "Heeeey! Whaz up?" to our little patch of dirt, and thus more weeds were born. And bred. Continuously.

I won't get into details with you, but we have a certain neighbor {with grass instead weeds in their backyard, of course} that sicked the county dogs on us. Something about weeds needing to be no bigger than 6 inches tall or something like that. Well, our weeds were, like, 6 feet tall. Those massive bad boys were interspersed with lovely little weeds that grow flat on the ground and adorn themselves with stickers. Ya'll know what I'm talking about, I'm sure. They look like this, and when you step on one, you can't help but wonder why the world personally hates your guts. . .

{photo source}

Anywhoo, the hubs got busy with a borrowed weed whacker while I cowered from flying rocks on the other end of the property, dutifully pulling the smaller, less-prone-to-world-domination weeds. It took us forever. And ever. There are many sore muscles and not a little raw skin to show for our hard work, but you can finally see our backyard fence. . . which is pretty impressive.

{I just wish I would have had the presence of mind to snap some before pictures instead of shooting crusty looks at the suspected complaining neighbor. Oh, well. Next time. :)}

 

See that little tree off to the right, up there? We unearthed him in our neighbor's yard after chopping down the mountain of weeds. Grow little, fella, grow. You can now see the sunlight. Be free!


{Aaaand, I promise I didn't leave that empty can of soda there all day. He was practicing his swan dive technique in the wind, and who was I to say no? He had to have his moment of fame on the blog, too, after all}. 

Here is a closeup of that pile of weeds.  I wish I had something for scale. . . like a small human or something. . . but trust me, that's a lot o' weeds.



. . . .

Now for the moral of this tale of woe.

We all have weeds in our lives that need to be pulled. Call them bad habits; call them sins; call them whatever you'd like. Some are six feet tall and others grow low to the ground, hard to see from far away. Maybe no one even knows they exist but you.

If there's one thing I know from experience {and from observation}, it is that weeds can be pulled superficially, but if you don't get out all the roots, they just grow back in a quick hurry. Sometimes you need a hand from other tools, like a tiller or weed whacker, to help you get started. There are people in your life that act as those tools, and they are there to keep you from breaking your back uselessly. They can't do all the work for you. . . you still have to man up and lift the whacker or push the tiller, but they help make an impossible job possible.

But, unfortunately, even if you manage to pull up your bad habit from the roots, if you don't replace it with something else, it will most likely come growing back. Slowly but surely. Take, for example, you decide to call it quits with milk. Goodbye, moo cow, goodbye. Well, if you don't replace that with other calcium-filled foods, you're gonna find yourself in a pickle down the road. You can't just cut something out and leave a gaping hole there. It will be filled with something, either good or bad. You can either eat a string cheese or a bag of potato chips.

Say that you're trying to quit swearing. You're going to have to find a suitable replacement word or that little naughty word is just gonna keep popping out, despite your best efforts. If you're trying to keep your mind on the straight and narrow in the oftentimes sleazy internet world, you're going to have to come up with some wholesome websites to visit to take the place of the sleazy ones. Make sense?

If you pull weeds in your backyard, you're going to have to put some grass or cement or a whole lotta sumthin' back there, or the weeds are just gonna come back.

. . .

The Lord works in our lives just like a landscaper works in fresh dirt. Left to our own devices, we will always grow weeds of one variety or another. Sorry, but it's true. I'm as good at growing weeds as the next person.

He can pull all the weeds out by their roots and help us along the path to true and lasting forgiveness. Not only that, but he can cultivate our soil and plant pleasant things to take the place of those darn weeds. He takes what once was barren and useless and turns it into something purposeful and beautiful.

We just have to help him.

We can't pretend our weeds aren't there and then get mad at the "neighbor" who points them out to us. Maybe they're just trying to help, after all. I know that now {after my muscles are healing and I'm not out in the sun anymore}, I'm thankful for the push to get the work done. Sometimes we all need a gentle nudge in the right direction to get our wheels spinning.

Start pulling your weeds, my friends! You don't have to tackle the entire backyard in one day, nor do you have to do it alone. But just keep doing your best. Do what you can do, and let the Lord help with all the rest you can't do alone. Trust me-- the act of getting "landscaped" might not feel pleasant at the time, but you won't be disappointed with the results.