Saturday, May 31, 2008

Weeds

I've been doing a lot of weeding lately. Both in the yard - and in my life. :)

It's a funny thing about weeds. They grow without you putting any effort forth whatsoever. And as soon as you pull them up, they start all over again. They don't need watering. Or pruning. Or just the right amount of sunshine. They just grow and grow and grow and grow...

But to have something truly beautiful, (which here in Colorado could simply be plain ol' green grass,) you have to work at it. Sprinklers and drip systems have to be set for just the right time of day, the proper soil has to be in place, and those terrible weeds have to be pulled.

The same goes with our lives and our spiritual growth. It takes work and effort and time and energy to grow something beautiful spiritually. But it doesn't take work to let the weeds sprout up and take over.

We must be diligent. Hardworking. Willing to take the painful pruning and weeding. And always on guard - lest those nasty weeds take over and spread their roots throughout our lives.

Are you willing? Are you ready? It's not for the faint of heart. Some of our weeds could be our favorite things. Things that are easy to let in, or things that we are lazy about.

How much TV do you watch? How much time do you spend sitting around doing absolutely nothing? Do you spend that same amount of time with your spouse? Or your children? What about studying God's Word? What things are you doing that are of eternal value? Are you doing things to please man rather than God? These are all good and tough questions.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go pull some weeds.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just happened by tonight and was rather a grump. This story touched my heart in a huge way. You know I sit around a lot and watch way too much tv. telling myself that I worked all day and need a break. I watch my wife busy from the time she is up to the time she goes to sleepand realize how lazy I am and how I have let the weeds grow and grow and grow and grow, just like you said. I really want to work on this. But how? I don't know where to start. Now I understand a little more why I'm such a grumpy person. I need to pull out my Bible and read and spend time with my wife and child.
Thank you for sharing. Will you pray for me?
Charlie

Anonymous said...

This is one of my favorite writings of yours. Ouch you stepped on our toes, but I needed to hear it and I'm sure many others do as well.

I love your funny ones, but I also love your serious straight to the heart ones. One of my other favorites is Running out of time. I think you should re-post that one!

Thank you from my weed infested heart - which hopefully will be weed free again soon.
Laura

Anonymous said...

Kim -
You inspired me today with this blog, as you do with all of them, but this one really hit home. I have a LOT of weeds in my life right now, some more overgrown than others.
Thanks for the reminder that some pruning is needed.

Gretchen

Anonymous said...

Amazing. every time I hear you speak or read something you've written, I learn.

Thanks for being willing and for always smiling laughing and encouraging the rest of us.