Just a few more thoughts on weeds...I have just come inside and I finished weeding the whole front garden. I noted an interesting thing... the weeds from this year were easy to pull out, but the weeds that remained from last year or before... stuck like super glue!
1. the soil...
We had our front flower bed re-done last spring, and they added a lot of mulch and turned that hard black clay until it was mixed into a rich but workable soil. Weeds do NOT grow as tight and ugly in good fertile soil. Their grip is not as strong. They are easier to get up by the roots and remove. When you try to remove a weed in hard black clay... it's nearly impossible without a whole lot of digging and sweating!
The soil of our lives should already be full of enough of God's grace, that even when the weeds come, and they will come... the removal process should be a lot quicker than it sometimes is.
2. the tools...
When I pull them up with my hands, it so often doesn't get the whole weed, especially not the root. If I use a spade or shovel, it's a quick dig under the roots and most of them come up pretty well.
Our spiritual tools for removing those weeds of our minds and hearts are readily available... His Word is loaded with promises for every one of them. But sitting and looking at our Bibles is not going to feed our own souls with His truth and promises. It's the tool we most need to pick up every day, and the directions are all there.
3. the disposal...
When we have done some good thorough weeding, inside and outside... put the weeds in the trash and get rid of them! If we let them lie around, they will take root again and the process the next time will be even more tedious. God is the only real remover of both the weeds and the roots, and He removes them 'as far as the east is from the west'...
My neighbor behind us has a beautiful iron fence with Carolina Jasmine covering the whole thing. But this summer, one of those green jack in the beanstalk vines has gotten intertwined in the jasmine, and now it kind of looks like a jack in the beanstalk on steroids! Not only that, but that vine has 'jumped' up the hill into my garden, and I pull out new vines every week. It has definitely spread...
Her vine will eventually be pulled off and cleared away... just the way I want my weeds and vines to be. Weeds are okay out in the pasture on a barren field that no one is using...
but I want them OUT of my garden!
P.S... It was your comments and emails from the last post that got me 'digging' a little deeper on the weed thing. There are many other lessons to be taught and learned about weeds... they are the lessons of life. I learn from you every day. You are such a wise and funny group of blogging friends, and I love each one of you.
17 comments:
This was really good. I love the anologies that you have made. It is really true for me that when I have let something take hold of me AGAIN and AGAIN, it becomes soo much harder to dig it out...the roots just go deeper and deeper. Hope you have a good day! HUGS
I am so glad you are out there gardening. Do be careful with the heat. :) I love what you have learned. I will be thinking of it when I am out tending to my own weeds. I liked the Bible part. It is the best weed whacker of all. You still have to use it and not let it just sit there.
Oh and it is hard work. Sometimes with sweat and tears.
I really, really loved this. Thanks for gardening.
Come to think of it, you're right. Weeds ARE easier to pull when they are in soft,loose soil.
Some good thoughts here!
Dear Sonja,
What is a girl to do, when she is too busy tending other's gardens to take care of her own? I am so busy with obligations, that just today before reading this post, I was thinking I have no time to care for myself of home sometimes... overwhelmed... I guess I should pray more to the master gardening himself and he will give me strentgh. Thanks for making me think on this.
Blessings and hugs.
Your friend, Gwen
I am glad you have continued on your subject of weeds since it's an issue we all deal with all the time both in our gardens and our hearts.....The additional comments on the soil, the tools, and the disposal was the icing on the cake.....great points......
When my children were teenagers I was often frustrated with our relationships and one morning early as I was praying over some issues, I felt led to go outside into my garden and start to weed.....boy God and I did some talking and I got rid of much negative energy and a weed free garden to boot.......I have continued this practice all these many years later....God and I have had some wonderful conversations and while weeding He has also shown me weeds in my heart He was working on and wanted my cooperation in getting ride of them.....I strongly recommend this practice of weeding......God is so clever in His ways of dealing with His kids.....
Hugs and blessings,
Nancy
I am so happy to be following you now dearest....this was a lesson for me. The SOIL part especially was a good reminder for me for both applications:
my garden needs to be tilled weekly.
my heart needs to be tilled by His word and by acting like Him.
THANK YOU! FABULOUS ADDENDUM!!!!! Anita
Great job...nothing for me to add. Since God has been using the garden illustration this year in my life I can only nod...in fact, I am looking at material that has words about gardens all over it for my den curtains.
Enjoyed!!!...now if we could get rid of this heat...looks like we are going for the record set in 1980..oh, my...then I can get out and get my beds ready for a fall garden if it will stop.
And the digging continues! I love these practical application tips, Sonja. Especially the one about "throwing them away." Wow, that speaks volumes to me. Bag 'em up and drag 'em to the curb! So many of us miss this final step.
peace~elaine
What a perfect bottom line to the weed story! It doesn't matter if we get 9 out of 10 of them, that 10th remaining weed (perhaps the toughest to eradicate) can spoil nearly everything in it's proximity.
Oh this is so good! It is true that the newest weeds in our lives are the easiest to pull up. We have to work much harder at removing those that have been there for some time. Thank you for expanding on this!
Thank you for continuing to garden. I have really enjoyed the last two posts. Such good analogies
Fantastic. I really loved the one about getting them OUT and AWAY from the garden. You are so right about those spiritual weeds that we leave way too close to our soil and allow to take root yet again.
I have that bad habit. You, as usual, spoke volumes to me.
Come to think of it, Jesus actually called himself the vine and his father the gardener (John. 15.), And he knew quite a lot about weeding and pruning.
As do you.
Jesus suggested burning of the disposals, but today we have to put it in the garbage can. Never try using weeds for compost, the bad seeds will follow.
I have been gardening for some days now, after a month of rain and horrible weather. My hydrangeas were swept in "Jack in the bean stalk vine." Evil will grow and suffocate even in bad weather. I don't even have an antidote, except weeding and weeding.
"Keep close to me, and I will keep close to you," Jesus said.
Have a blessed Lord's Day.
Great post...boy are those weeds pesky...the weeds in our hearts as well as our gardens and it is always best to use the "correct" tools!
Hugs,
andrea
Sonja, So true, about the soft soil being easier to weed. I try to keep my heart-soil soft by reading my Bible each morning before I even look at anything else.
I am kind of a "news hound" but one of my little self-disciplines, is to refuse to even read the headlines until after I have finished my morning scripture reading. :) I figure every little bit helps. Blessings to you - Marsha
So glad you went digging even further on weeds. There have been times when I thought I had forgiven and was not harboring any bitterness. But then something got me stirred up and I realized ...the root was still there but just deep. So I go to the Lord and tell Him all about it and He helps me to let go.
Love you,
Debbie
Weeding is tough but sure is a great application for our lives. God was showing me a lot about weeds recently too! I hate the process, but I'm so much better for it (and so is my garden.)
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