I was thinking the other about how our lives are like gardens. A garden in which we have the opportunity to plant and cultivate just about anything we want. I love it when I get joy, peace, wonder and excitement growing in my garden. When these start to grow the colors and smells are amazing, and life feels good. But, I do believe that I need to work at my gardening skills because all to often I fail to take care of the weeds. The weeds can be different from garden to garden. Some may have weeds of discontentment and others may have weeds of bitterness or anger or sadness etc. I however struggle with the weed or worry.
This weed is something that has sprouted in my garden since I was a little girl and more often than not I have cultivated it rather than rooting it out. The thing about weeds is that they can be sneaky. When they first begin to push through the soil it is often hard to tell if what you are seeing is a weed or one of the seeds you planted. And so, you sometimes just leave it alone instead of pulling it up right away. That's the first mistake. Weeds are going to happen, it's a part of being human, but we as gardeners need to vigilantly tend our gardens. When weeds start sprouting we need to pull them right away, or they just might get out of hand.
I know in my own garden if I catch the weed of worry when it's still just a sprout I can pull it and stay on top of keeping my garden flourishing. However, I really need to work on identifying those nasty little sprouts right away. Because, more often than not I look at the weed and go, "Oh this must surely be a good plant. I have to water it and tend it and take care of it because it is right." And so I do and then I get this giant nasty weed that starts to suffocate my joy sprouts and it takes over the peace plants and all of a sudden my garden is a jungle of worry and I feel overpowered.
And you know what, it is a lot harder to keep my garden nice once I've let it get out of control like that. Weeds that have been cultivated grow big and their roots grow deep and it will be harder to pull them out than if you had done it when they were just sprouts, but they can be pulled out.
The best part is, I know the Master Gardener. He knows just what the joy plants look like and what the weeds of worry look like. When I consult Him He will come to my garden and give me a hand. He Shows me what to look out for and how to take care of the plants. He waters my joy and peace plants and He gives me a hand at pulling out the weeds. He knows exactly what to look for and helps me to notice the difference between a good plant and a weed.
So remember, the Master Gardener, the One who loves your heart is there for you. Have a lovely day and happy gardening.
“When people will not weed their own minds, they are apt to be overrun by nettles.”
~Horace Walpole
