Pulling weeds
When Sarah and I first bought the house we live in now, one of the first things we did was landscaping. We had a lot of help, but I can still remember the very real pride in the improvements we made. There is something different about getting your hands in the dirt, even if neither of us was gifted a genuinely green thumb. In particular, our back lanai had always been our favorite part of the house and now we had plants we’d planted to enjoy while we sat out there.
Of course, there were also weeds to be pulled. At first, we were eager to do so. Then I became less eager. I’m pretty good at ignoring weeds, both real and metaphorical. Fast forward to this month and that oasis in the back had turned into a source of embarrassment. Weeds everywhere. Sarah asked me this week if there was any salvaging it.
I set out Friday morning to try.
As you might guess from the photo at the top, this story has a happy ending. Would I be writing you if it didn’t? I thought about including a before and after shot, but Jesus taught that we shouldn’t be a stumbling block to others and I’m afraid you might stumble into judging. Sure, that’s why.
While getting some of the weeds pulled was the obvious victory, a more lasting one was that God showed me some similarities between sin and weeds as I worked. I thought I’d share them with you. I pray they help you as much as they did me.
Some of these weeds had clearly been there for a while. They were so completely tangled up in the landscape, that I wasn’t sure all the plants were going to make it. They were wrapped up in the roots of the plants we’d planted. They’d developed root systems that ran underground, some the length of the flower bed. It struck me how similar that was to the sin I’ve let fester in my life. How that sin got so deeply ingrained that it attached itself to the very good things in my life. I’m not going to go into specifics, but I’m guessing you have an example or two of your own. The longer we ignore weeds - and sin - the more they attach themselves.
Those weren’t even the worst of the weeds. Some of them came out easy, too easy. Any tug on them at all would remove the visible part of the weed, leaving the root underground to sprout again. These are like the sins I’m not so attached to. Those I’ve recognized and plucked right out of my life, without ever addressing the underlying cause. I’m so proud when I pull one of those. They always pop back up. Have any of those?
Then there were a few weeds I almost didn’t want to pull. They’d grown little flowers on them. They were actually kind of pretty. Can you relate? Have any sins in disguise? Any that have a “positive” side? I sure do.
Anyway, the garden is looking better today. Better than yesterday at least. Not quite as good as the day we finished it. That will take a little longer.
The first takeaway? It wasn’t too late. As George Eliot said, “it’s never too late to be who you could have been.” It’s never too late to be who God made you to be. It’s never too late to start pulling weeds. At least not on this side.
The second? It would have been a lot easier if I had kept pulling weeds as soon as I saw them. I know there are roots I missed. Some of those roots are going to sprout new weeds, maybe tomorrow. There are consequences to letting weeds take over the garden even after you’ve started removing them.
I finished thankful Jesus died for my sins. He knew I couldn’t pull all the weeds or get rid of all the roots. He knew that new weeds would keep sprouting, so He came and saved me and you and everyone who believes in Him. But that doesn’t mean we can just ignore the weeds. He sent the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins and to sanctify us.
Even though we’ll never get them all, He expects us to keep pulling weeds.