What is Growing in your Garden?

I could not believe how fast they emerged.

Sprouting up out of nowhere, they invaded my flowerbed.   Along with the healthy plants, this rain filled winter in California also brought along some large weeds.

Left unattended, weeds just continue to grow.

Around the side of my house by my trash cans, some of the weeds stood taller than me. I had not even noticed how quickly they appeared. Interestingly, the guest speakers at church this weekend, George and Tondra Gregory, shared about the necessity of weeding and I want to share two important lessons I learned from them.

1. Weeds grow automatically but the good stuff never grows automatically. 

Have you ever thought about this?  Weeds will sprout up anywhere.  I recently found a huge weed in the crack on my driveway.  You don’t have to use miracle grow or give them extra water or sunlight; they just surface consistently.   However, my beautiful roses and flowering plants require much more intention.  They need proper sunlight, enough water and sometimes even then, these plants do not grow and prosper.

This is so true with life.  We desire healthy relationships with our family and friends as well as a deeper relationship with God, but these good things do not come automatically.  They require living a life of purpose. 

• Turning off the TV to spend intentional time with our kids. 
• Waking up early before work to read God’s Word and fill our mind with His truth. 
• Saying no to something good to say Yes to something even better. 

However, if we coast on auto pilot and are not deliberate about what we do, think, or say, sadly, our life will become full of weeds.

2. Cutting the weeds is different than uprooting the weeds.

Once we have identified a weed in our life, it is essential to remove it.  A couple weeks ago, my boys were helping me get rid of these large weeds that had appeared.  It was tempting to take the easier path and just cut them all down and quickly clean up the flower bed.   However, this easier, quicker path would not have solved my weed problem.  In order to ensure that the weeds would not grow back, we removed them by the roots even if it did take longer.

Uprooting the weeds is the only way to guarantee they will not return.

This is the same in life too.  We identify a weed, a struggle or a bad habit that we need to address, and it is tempting to find the easiest path to eliminate its negative effects.  However, true change takes time and hard work. 

Let me share with you a personal example. For years, I struggled with reacting in anger instead of responding calmly.   Through counseling, I learned that anger is a secondary emotion and the primary emotions are hurt, disappointment, or fear.  Digging deeper, I realized that I really felt hurt and disappointment, but instead of sharing these emotions, I would just blast the other person with hurtful words.  In order to remove this weed by the roots, I had to take time and look deep within to see what was fueling this heated response.   

Maybe you have a different weed that needs to be uprooted.  I pray you will dig deep, embrace the hard work and time needed, and with God’s help, eliminate the weeds in your life.  

Friends, what is growing in your garden?  Weeds or Seeds.

If you see weeds, I encourage you to do the hard work to uproot them.  If you see new life growing from your seeds, I encourage you to be purposeful with your time and your relationships, so they continue to grow.  You will never regret living with intentionality.

Love, Jodi