Photo from tamu.edu
I was pulling weeds and errant grass from my flower beds the other day – a long overdue task! My back was killin’ me by the end. Most of the weeds came right out, but the grass was another story. Here in north Texas, Bermuda grass is a common lawn grass which spreads by sending out runners, which in turn put down roots. This is great for LAWNS, but not so great for flowerbeds.
I can’t tell you how many times I started pulling on grass blades, only to find that they were attached to long runners coming from a root several feet away. Good grief, by the time I’d get to the root, it wasn’t anywhere near where I started. And some of those roots were impossible to pull up. The runners would just break off in my hands, leaving the parent plant in a perfect position to simply send out more shoots. Urgh.
It got me to thinking about spiritual roots – both good and bad.
I thought of those roots of bitteness or unforgiveness that send out shoots which pop up unexpectedly in random areas of my life. Perhaps me kicking the dog for standing in my way is really about me not forgiving my husband about something. Hmmm. I stopped weeding and pondered that awhile. I guess I keep pulling “weeds” without ever really getting to the root of the issue. Ouch, Lord.
But there are also good roots that I can cultivate and nurture. Love, joy peace….well, pretty much all the fruit of the spirit have roots that I want to go down deep in my heart. And when I cultivate them by deepening my relationship with Jesus, the fruit just sorta explodes all over the place! Unexpectedly and beautifully.
What kind of roots are in your heart? You can usually tell by what pops up in random places. Do you have a weed problem or a fruit explosion? Do you find yourself responding to situations with anger, mistrust or snarky comments? Or do you wonder how on earth that nice compliment fell out of your mouth toward someone who reeeally bugs you? (Wow! Fruit!) I think an application of some “Weed N Feed” might be called for – along with some guarding, tending, pulling and nurturing.
What’s going on in the “flowerbed” of your life?
Rachel Anne
