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Weeds

5/19/2012

Today I made the decision that this was going to be the day that I tackled weeding the flowerbeds around the house. I actually began the process of pulling out the weeds last week trying to get them so they would look decent. Now, let me tell you- I am not gifted, at all, in the landscaping field. I enjoy having a beautiful yard with flowerbeds and a great landscape. I do not, however, enjoy being the one to make it happen. I am thankful that my sweet husband does enjoy this job and he does great work. Unfortunately for me, he has been working long hours the last eight weeks, so I felt it was time to pull on my polka-dot boots, gather my gardening gloves, and with hoe in hand trudge out to begin the tedious task at hand.

Every year I beg Pat to plant a garden and I promise that I will take care of it, believing that I will, when I make the promise. But, as a few weeks pass, so does my excitement and I allow the weeds to take over. I have looked at my flowerbeds for the last several weeks knowing the work that needed to be done but lacked the determination and desire needed to accomplish the work. Just look at that poor flowerbed. It has been pleading with me for help for weeks. So, regardless of the bees buzzing around me letting me know they are not happy with my intrusion into their territory, I am going to remove the weeds from this area to allow the beautiful plants and bushes to be seen in all their glorious splendor.

Once I began the work, I discovered that because I had let the weeds remain so long, removing them was extremely hard. The roots of those weeds were pretty deep and quite strong. It also became incredibly hard to tell where the beautiful plant was in the midst of them. As I fought to remove the weeds but save the plant, I began to think about the similarities of my walk with God and the need to be careful of the "weeds" I allow in my life. Weeds surround the plant and before long it doesn't stand out or look any different than what surrounds it. I thought about how God repeatedly told the Israelites to not be pulled into the pagan cultures around them because He knew they would be led away from Him and right into sin. They would miss the blessed life He had for them if they refused to live separate from those around them. I find that battle still exists for us today. As Followers of Christ, we are called to "come out from among them and be separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17 NKJV). Weeds also like to choke out the beauty of the plant. In Mark 4 we read about the Parable of the Sower and in verses 18&19 we are told "Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful (NIV). We must be careful that we watch for the weeds that will make our own lives unfruitful. What might those weeds be? They could be anything that contradicts what God has spoken to us in His Word, such as a relationship that has not been good for me, but I have tried to hold on to. We really do need to be careful of the company we keep. According to 1 Corinthians 15:33, "Bad company corrupts good character." Weeds are also attitudes and behaviors that I refuse to change and words that I speak that do not bring glory to God. They are also lifestyle choices that I refuse to let go of, even though God has spoken against them in His Word. When my life has become unfruitful it is time to get the hoe out and begin digging for the weeds that I have allowed to grow and begin the process of pulling them out.

So even though I have bees buzzing around threatening me with attack for trespassing, thousands of angry ants running in every direction because I have disturbed their home, and I have been startled by some ugly spiders along with the uncomfortable task of being sweaty and gross, I will press on to bring this flowerbed back to the beautiful state I know it was meant to be. I find it encouraging to know that we can do the same in our walk with the Lord. We can resist the temptation to give in to the bees that buzz around telling us that we don't belong and the angry ants and the scary spiders that don't like the interruptions and try to scare us into submission. It is worth it to me to get a little uncomfortable during the process of pulling out the weeds that do not belong in my life. I want to be the beautiful plant that God intended for me to be, don't you? When people see me, I want them to see the beauty of Christ as He was meant to be seen. Not just glimpses of Him every now and then, but always. That can only happen when I become diligent in my weeding. Well, it is time to get back to work.

After I finished for the day I pulled up my Scrabble game to see if it was my turn in any of my games. It was my turn and guess what word my Scrabble buddy had just played? Weed. Isn't God funny?

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Seasoned With Salt

5/1/2012

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This past weekend I had the opportunity to head a few hours west to visit my daughter and her family for the day. I was blessed that my good friend, Jackie, was able to make the trip with me. We decided to leave a little early and make a pit stop at the outlet malls along the way. We set our sights on finding some good sales and hard-to-pass-up bargains. Now that we both have grand-babies, it is a delight spending time (and money) in all the children's stores. That is just where I was when I decided that I had spent enough for one day and it was time to check out and shuffle off to Buffalo. I made my way to the front of the store where I noticed three registers which appeared line-free. I proceeded to get in line behind register number two. I wasn't there very long when I happened to look over my shoulder and noticed two women who seemed to be directing their comments my way. I realized that I must have cut in front of them in line and I said; "Oh, are you in line?" The response left me a little stunned. "UH, YEAH!!" was the answer, with a whole lot of attitude and inflection added. There was even a little head tilt added in for good measure. Now let me explain; there was no sign that said "line starts here." There were three registers and they stood behind register one. I offered my apology and immediately moved behind them in line and thought about her response. Actually, while I stood there I couldn't stop thinking about how highly irritated the women had become because I had, unintentionally, stepped in front of her. I began to mull over in my mind several different things. First, how have we become a society that has stopped caring how we make others feel with our words? Why do we allow our tongues to react so quickly, not caring how we come across to others? A lot of thoughts ran through my mind as I stood there and I knew that I would need to blog this out. ☺

Taming my tongue is definitely an area that has needed a lot of work, specifically in the way that I say what needs to be said. How those words sound to others and how I intend for them to come out can be two completely different viewpoints. Many times I have found myself offending someone without ever realizing why or how. When my children were younger they would often ask me why I was mad when I wasn’t mad at all- I just sounded it. (I used to get mad when they accused me of being mad when I wasn’t mad!) Making people afraid of the sound of your voice can be a great method to use when you want to control others, but that strategy may backfire and you may find you are left alone, talking to yourself. The Lord has given me an understanding that people do not need to hear the irritation in my voice when I speak. (Oh, okay, sometimes our kids do need to hear the irritation in our voice, to know we are serious!) But when we are out in public? Do people really need to know how annoyed we are at them, especially strangers? I know that I am not the only one who has seen some pretty impressive temper tantrums from strangers in public.

Over the past few days I have meditated on Colossians 4:6. In my spirit I just mulled over the words “seasoned with salt.” The verse says this: “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (NKJV). In the New Century Version it is put this way; “When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.” Now, Paul is talking about sharing the gospel message, but I believe that when we speak our speech should be kind and pleasant to everyone. It doesn't matter how irritated we might be, or how wronged we may feel, or how justified we believe we are.

Looking back I can see that I reasoned that I could speak to my husband and children in a much more relaxed way than I often spoke to others. I have received a great deal of correction from the Lord in this area. I do not need to make anyone feel badly or small when I speak, especially my family. I am to respect my husband and how I speak to him shows my level of respect for him, as well as others. There have even been a few times that I was able to hear the “truth spoken in love.” We are to always to speak the truth in love according to Ephesians 4:15, but we must remember that scripture is not giving us a license to say what we want, when we want, how we want- and then call it love when we destroy with our words.

Years ago, I was impressed to pray and ask the Lord to help me hear how I sounded when I spoke. I also began to ask Him to help me think about how people are going to hear what I am going to say. You know, think before you speak, that sort of thing! This approach has helped me immensely. If I am rushed I tend to sound sharp when I speak, simply because I am in a hurry. Remember a soft answer turns away wrath but those harsh words just manage to stir up anger (Proverbs 15:1 NKJV). We really need to do our part to keep from stirring up the pot of anger in others. Perhaps we need to think before we speak and even ask ourselves if what we are about to say is necessary. After all, not every thought that wanders through our minds needs to be spoken, does it? The Lord reminded me that we have two ears and one mouth and that is because He intends for us to listen twice as much as we talk.

So, if you see me wandering in a store and I happen to slip up and budge in line, please offer me some grace and a smile. Sometimes I am not very observant but I am working on it. And if you find yourself encountering someone mean and rude offer them a kind word seasoned with a little salt. Make them thirsty for the Sweet Spirit of Jesus living on the inside of you! That's really what we all need anyways!

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