I despise yard work. The worst kind of yard-work is weeding. Saturday I took on the task of weeding a front bed, which was terribly over-run by grass and some weeds.
“How did it get that way?” you may ask. To be honest, I was too lazy to keep it up all summer. I didn’t totally ignore the problem, however. I periodically sprayed weed-killer on the invading grass. I was satisfied that I had done my job. But now I know how shallow and short-lived the satisfaction was. The dead-looking grass was good – I felt successful in my war. But it was unsightly. I also discovered some unintended consequences on Saturday. Overspray from the weed killer had done its job on a couple of small bushes we had planted in the spring. Weed-killer does not play favorites!
Mad at myself, and frustrated with the weeds, I dug in, vowing to rid the bed of all of them, roots and all.
I used various garden tools to stir up the soil to make it easier to pull the weeds. But that wasn’t enough. I got down on hands and knees and dug even more to attack individual roots. I knew that if I didn’t get the roots, the weeds would grow back. My work progressed well most of the time. But there were times when a root would snap off and I was unable to get the entire root. I eventually realized that I could never get every root.
There was another problem with a few bushes in the bed. The weeds were so interwoven with the bushes, that it was really difficult to extract the weeds and their roots without causing some harm to the bushes and their roots. Eventually, I was successful, but it was slow going because I didn’t want to harm the bushes.
Sweaty, tired and aching, I looked back and saw the results of my labors. I know, however, that no matter how thorough I was, the weeds will return in the spring. I also now know that if I attack them early and often, the job will be much easier.
As I thought about it, I realized that sin in my life is much like those weeds.
“How did it get that way?” you may ask. To be honest, I was too lazy to keep it up all summer. I didn’t totally ignore the problem, however. I periodically sprayed weed-killer on the invading grass. I was satisfied that I had done my job. But now I know how shallow and short-lived the satisfaction was. The dead-looking grass was good – I felt successful in my war. But it was unsightly. I also discovered some unintended consequences on Saturday. Overspray from the weed killer had done its job on a couple of small bushes we had planted in the spring. Weed-killer does not play favorites!
Mad at myself, and frustrated with the weeds, I dug in, vowing to rid the bed of all of them, roots and all.
I used various garden tools to stir up the soil to make it easier to pull the weeds. But that wasn’t enough. I got down on hands and knees and dug even more to attack individual roots. I knew that if I didn’t get the roots, the weeds would grow back. My work progressed well most of the time. But there were times when a root would snap off and I was unable to get the entire root. I eventually realized that I could never get every root.
There was another problem with a few bushes in the bed. The weeds were so interwoven with the bushes, that it was really difficult to extract the weeds and their roots without causing some harm to the bushes and their roots. Eventually, I was successful, but it was slow going because I didn’t want to harm the bushes.
Sweaty, tired and aching, I looked back and saw the results of my labors. I know, however, that no matter how thorough I was, the weeds will return in the spring. I also now know that if I attack them early and often, the job will be much easier.
As I thought about it, I realized that sin in my life is much like those weeds.
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