Weeds love my garden. All that nice, fertile, tilled soil?
It's Hawaii for chickweed.
We're having an early spring this year and the weeds got the jump
on me. As I spent hours this week pulling weeds from the garden beds (and
I'm not done yet!) I reflected on their amazing speed of growth and spread.
Weeds grow like bad habits.
Good habits are like orchids. You have to really want to
make them grow. If you're not committed they aren't going to go anywhere.
Good habits have to be nurtured, tended daily, and lavished with love and
the special kind of encouragement and positive growing environments we save for
our children and expensive varietals (by the way, as a disclaimer I have to
admit that since I'm a parent more than I'm a gardener, I don't do houseplants.
But my Mom is an expert at both and has beautiful orchids and lush plants
all over her house, now that we're all grown up and moved out and she has more
time for tending.)
But today's diatribe is on weeds. Weeds and bad habits.
Why are they both so easy to grow? All you have to do is neglect
them, and they start sneaking in. You'll spot a tiny sprout and not take
the time to pull it out right away, then within days it's tripled in size and
is setting up a family reunion right next to your favorite tulip.
It's just that fast with bad habits too - at least for me.
If I don't yank it out the minute I spot one, before you know it the bad
habit will be part of my daily routine, and a couple others will have cropped
up alongside it. The classic example for me is the coffee stop on the way
to work. First it will be a gas stop. Then the poster over the gas
pump will lure me in for a cup of steaming hot coffee. Then a few days
later, I won't have made coffee at home, and the memory of that cup will lure
me back. But there will be no need for gas that day, and maybe a little
something gets added to my breakfast. Before you know it, it will be a daily
coffee and breakfast sandwich stop, wasting money, time, and calories on something
I can do better, faster, and cheaper at home. Until something makes me
stop and look at what I'm doing. Then I have to yank that habit out by
the roots and go cold turkey while I nurture the home breakfast habit again.
So, after hours and hours spent on my knees pulling out weeds, I
spotted a coupon for a weed preventer designed for flower gardens and decided
to check it out. Reading the label at the store I was disappointed to see
that it would only prevent new weeds, not kill off the existing ones. I
still had to invest the time and effort to get rid of what was already there,
but at least there was hope that once I got the garden weed free, it might stay
that way for a while without daily patrolling.
And here's the really great news! There's a preventer
for bad habits that will also help you get rid of the existing ones! And,
it's free and has absolutely no risk of unpleasant side effects! What is
this miracle? Prayer. Time on your knees telling your Savior about
your weaknesses, repenting your sins and asking for His strength to overcome
them. 100% satisfaction guaranteed, although the results you get are
usually far different and better than what you imagined.
My prayer: Father, you made me and planned every one of my
days. You know my weaknesses and where I stumble. Please Father,
forgive my sins. Guide me and strengthen me. Help me to rid myself
of this baggage that is keeping me from being the woman You made me to be.
Only by Your strength and grace can I be strong enough and disciplined
enough to do this, but in You, all things are possible. I lean on you
Lord, and I know that You are all I need.
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