Three tips for weeding your garden, and other untended places
Ah . . . summertime is gardening time, when amateur digger-planters hopefully reap bountifully despite their struggles against downpours, drought, temperature surprises, and various combinations of pestilence—not to mention the biggest problem of all: weeds.
Actually, you don’t need to be a gardener to battle weeds. I have a mental picture of a Japanese gentleman, new to our neighborhood years ago, bending in his lawn to dig up dandelions one by one with a handheld trowel. I don’t know if this first-time suburbanite hadn’t yet discovered weed killer, or if he had an aversion to chemical intervention. In either case, he was working awfully hard to keep up with the Joneses. (In Tokyo, do they try to keep up with the Yamaguchis?) Alas, peer pressure and culture shock make a most uncomfortable combination.
I’m something of a gardener myself. The miracle of sumptuous harvest from a smattering of finger-nail-sized seeds never ceases to be a marvel to me. As the saying goes, “You're closer to God's heart in a garden than anyplace else on earth."
But when I get around to weeding, my thoughts usually move from God to the devil. I can name several comparisons between persistent weeds and our determined adversary. With that in mind, I have some advice as I prepare once again an effort to make my yard look more like Eden and less like an untended interstate shoulder.
When it comes to weeds . . .
. . . don’t let ‘em get ahead of you.
You may eliminate all the crabgrass in your lawn or thistles from your vegetable patch, but be assured you haven’t eradicated the invaders forever. Stroll past your once pristine garden after a rainy day, and you’ll see unwanted new growth popping up in every blank swath of soil. Take a week’s vacation, and you may come home to garden beds overgrown with varieties you never imagined.
It takes regular attention to keep the weeds away. And I’ve discovered my spiritual health is not a once-and-done proposition, either. In fact, just about the time I think I have the upper hand on one temptation, another slides in behind it to befuddle me again. A friend once said of a prominent preacher whose wife had just suffered a stroke: “He’s been faithful in every area. If the devil can’t get to him any other way, he’ll try an attack on his family.”
Weeds grow best of all in fertile soil. I must live with the fact that spiritual progress will always be accompanied by spiritual battle.
. . . don’t ignore the small stuff.
A random blade of grass in the middle of a flower bed, or a small, unwanted vine at the edge of your zucchini patch may seem like no big deal. But untended, these weeds will one day take over.
Likewise, a furtive glance can lead to an affair. A secret internet search can grow into pornography addiction. One cut corner can start a habit of just getting by. One petty lie or small financial compromise can lead to a life marked by unethical behavior.
Years ago I heard a preacher tell about a movie ticket stub he had framed to hang in his office. There was nothing special about the film for which he purchased the ticket. The problem was that he had decided to slip into an adjoining theater in the megaplex after his first movie was finished and just as another was beginning. For the price of one admission, he saw two films, cheating the business out of the price of a second ticket.
It would be easy to say this little infraction didn’t matter, but the preacher knew small compromises like his could grow into a habit of dishonesty or double-dealing. He saw the misused ticket every day to remind him never to stop tending his character.
. . . don’t be surprised or discouraged.
The prospect of weeds need not convince us to give up on gardening. The harvest is worth the effort! The convenience, the abundance, and the taste of homegrown produce make all the work worthwhile. The flowerbeds decorating your landscape feed the bees and create beauty for your summer days. What could be better?
And what could be better than the beauty of a guileless friend whose pride does not get in the way of their service, whose selfishness has been defeated by their willingness to sacrifice, whose patience allows them to nurture and encourage everyone around them, whose joy splashes into your life when you’re with them?
We all know they weren’t just born with all those healthy qualities. They’ve cultivated them through a lifetime of attention to the weed patches threatening their spiritual growth.
Weeds are a fact of gardening, just like temptation and sin are a threat to every Christian. Neither age nor experience eliminates the possibility for fall. Paul certainly wasn’t new in the faith when he wrote, “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” If the great apostle couldn’t avoid shortcoming, neither can I.
Sometimes my soul is distressingly weedy. To restore fruitfulness, I must dig out the pride that threatens to choke out virtue. For help, I have the MiracleGro of the Holy Spirit that can turn withering goodness into a crop of joy and good deeds.
The need for his help need not surprise or discourage me. God knew all along I couldn’t plow a perfect path without him. He wants each of us to flourish like an exquisite rose. The result of a life tended for him—and by him—is more beautiful than anything I could grow in my backyard.
Dandelion photo by Johnson Chou on Unsplash. Canna photo by Mark A. Taylor.
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This post first appeared July 31, 2021.