Have you ever really looked at some of the weeds that pop up unexpectedly?....They don't belong there...do they?....We didn't plant them there...
Some people look at their well manicured green lawn and see one of these golden nuisances standing proudly in the sun...when we were children, we proudly picked these mounds of sunshine for our mothers...when we were small, we somehow had the ability to notice detail with great appreciation...we would take this beautiful creation carefully in our hand, and purely motivated by love share the beautiful gift we found for this beautiful person in our life.
I have long loved the pop of bright yellow color of dandelions against the fresh spring green grass...I know, a part of me will never grow up, and I don't care to have one of those perfectly manicured monotone green lawns...I rather like the random pops of color...
However...I would like to have a smooth well groomed looking life...but I find that there are "weeds" that pop up unexpectedly...I want them to go away.... be plucked out....so I do my best to attack them with everything I have to get rid of them...then I got to thinking...
Could I get to a place in my life where I looked at these weeds with appreciation?...If I were able to hold these "weeds" and look from a different perspective, could I see beauty?....Could I see design?....could seeing things in that perspective change my life into something better?....
When I was a little girl, I used to feel so sorry for the weeds that my mother would pull from her flower beds...I would see them thrown on the ground with their roots withering in the hot sun...I simply had to rescue them! I would scoop them up and carry them to a section of the yard that I deemed "The Weed Garden" I lovingly planted them and felt that I had done a good service.
Over the years, my weed garden took over the little corner of the yard....then branched out further into the yard...it sort of got out of hand. It was on it's way to choking out good plants that were pleasing and beneficial....
...I learned that when someone who knows better than me, pulls out a damaging weed, it is to protect the good healthy things like vegetables that give us nutrition and support our health....Hmmm... So if the Master Gardener decides to uproot some damaging "weed" I have let grow in my life....I had better not run to scoop it up and re-plant it...I need to trust that He knows what needs pulled and work on cultivating the beneficial things in my life.
Also, have you ever noticed a wildflower growing in a strange place and thought "How did that get there?"
I found this little wild viola (some may think of it as a weed) growing in a crack between the cement steps up to our front door.
This made me think of the times in life when you are not sure why you are where you are...you may feel alone...out of place...away from friends and like-minded people. Take a lesson from this little beauty....
You are made with incredible detail and value, when your Creator looks at you, He smiles at His wonderful design. Perhaps when he looks at your corner of the world, you brighten it...just like this beauty stands out against the gray concrete...bloom where your planted and leave the transplanting to The Master Gardener...
And finally...
If you look around at all the other flowers growing in the garden of life...and you feel you look more like a weed than a magnificent flower...maybe you don't feel as attractive...or as beneficial...or as talented... remember, we are all a work in progress...God makes us beautiful and brings us to bloom in different seasons...This little Peony doesn't look like much now, but wait and see what a beautiful display comes with a little more sunshine and rain...
Speaking of rain, I have learned a few lessons from that as well.....I will save that for another time though.
For now, I challenge you to see the beauty in the unexpected "weeds" of life....allow the Master Gardener to pull some damaging weeds from your life...Grow where you're planted...and if you are feeling a little weed-like, just wait...God has a wonderful plan for your life!
Happy Spring!
-Allison
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