Little Weeds

We have been doing a LOT of yard work over the last couple of weeks.Add to that the months of discussion on what we're going to plant and where. And you might think that we're actual serious gardeners or something. We ordered plants and seeds from catalogs. We rented a sod cutter and ripped up half our yard. We ordered two truckloads of dirt, had it dumped in our driveway and spent two whole days distributing it around our newly created garden beds. We're still not even close to done.

In all of this, the kids have been some help, but just a lot of mess. Dirt everywhere, of course. Its all great fun.

The other night I started talking to Archer about our garden, about how carefully we prepare the soil before planting anything new. We went into great detail about getting rid of the weeds, putting in new dirt, carefully planting the new stuff and then watering like crazy. I told him about the problem I'm already seeing - for every one flower there are twenty little weed sprouts. We talked about what would happen if we just left the weeds, they'd be harder to pull out and they'd crowd out the flowers.

Eventually we got to the point of the whole thing - the weeds, but not the ones in the gardens outside. The little seeds of frustration that get planted in our hearts, and how they start to grow. And what feeds them. I explained that every time he stomps his foot in anger, or shouts at someone, or kicks or hits or slams a door, its like watering those little weed sprouts. Giving them fertilizer and sunlight and just letting them grow and grow. We talked about how those seeds get planted, how they start to grow and when we should pluck them out and throw them away. The very second we realize we're feeling frustrated we have to stop watering those little seedlings and instead pluck them out, and throw them far away. I told him I don't want his beautiful flowers of love and kindness to be crowded out by all those ugly weeds. And somehow, this idea took hold and started to grow.

For the last couple of days, he's been bringing it up, the idea of throwing away the weeds that sprout up. He's given me a couple of examples of how he's doing it, and he even has a gesture that goes along with this idea, tossing something away. Somehow, that physical, visual, hard-work example of what we're doing on the outside of our house has become a metaphor for what we all face every single day in our own hearts. The choice to sow seeds that will produce beautiful flowers and delicious vegetables, or to allow the winds of chance to sow seeds of frustration, anger, and all other kinds of unwanted sin. They get it, they've grabbed hold of the idea and I pray that we'll each find ways to work together in harvesting God's fruits in our lives, and casting out everything else.