“Although the life of a person is in a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God.” — Pope Francis
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” — Bible (1 John 2:16-17)
Little Joey was the spitting image of his father Big Joe. He would watch his dad and try to copy everything he did. Big Joe was very proud of his yard. Every year it produced beautifully green lush grass, weed-free. Big Joe was the envy of his neighbors. Little Joey thought he was getting big enough to help, so as spring approached, Little Joey asked his dad if he could help pull the weeds. So Little Joey was assigned the task of getting rid of the weeds that were beginning to spring up in one portion of the garden.
His dad had already cleared most of the weeds out earlier, but a few were beginning to pop up. So Little Joey got out the weed clippers (his scissors) and clipped the weeds off right at the top of the soil. His portion of the lawn looked good. Big Joe took a quick look and gave Little Joey a fist-bump for his successful efforts.
However, a few weeks later, the weeds began to pop up. Little Joey was disappointed that the efforts of his hard work seemed wasted. Big Joe, who had patiently waited to teach Little Joey an important life lesson, then handed him a weed remover designed to dig down into the soil to remove the roots so the weed couldn’t grow back.
As we move forward into the new year, are we hoping for some improvements in our behavior over this past year? Last year, did you find yourself distracted and worried about what others were thinking about you? Were you preoccupied with efforts to please them and gain their approval, and feeling insecure because you didn’t feel very successful?
Maybe you are feeling a little short on cash, especially after Christmas expenditures, looming income taxes, and no money left for vacations. And your neighbors purchased a new car, and you are stuck with the same old car for another year.
The usual desire for “things” hasn’t gone away. Maybe it’s the new car, or some jewelry like your friend just received for Christmas, or new clothes for the new year. It might even be that lust we haven’t been able to eliminate, such as overeating, or alcohol, and worse yet, an addiction to pornography. Any desire that drives us, preoccupies our minds, or controls our thinking, can be a weed that hinders growth in our lives.
When I was a kid, I remember seeing the dandelions in the lawn that had seeds on them that looked like parachutes. I would break them off at the stem and blow on them. This would instantly launch a jillion of those tiny, angel-hair parachutes. Fighting the spread of these wind-born warriors, made me wonder how many dandelions there are in just one of those dandelion seed-balls.
If we let the weeds grow in our life, the lusts for recognition, or financial rewards, or the best car in the neighborhood, we may find ourselves distracted from what really matters, our family and our friends, and God’s plan for our lives — on a daily basis. Perhaps one of our biggest challenges is thinking the weeds in our lives are small and even kind of pleasant at times. The yellow dandelions are pretty. But when we let the dandelions, and weeds in our lives, grow, they spread and crowd out what really matters. Let’s get rid of those dandelions and sanitize our soil with the word of God.
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