“Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?” It seems that I am spending every spare moment in my garden these days. While I find it relaxing, I am feeling the pressure to annihilate all the weeds. I have a lot of them. While working in the garden I was reminded of one of Jesus’ parables about weeds. “The reign of God may be likened to a man who sowed good seed into his field. While everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds through his wheat and then made off. When the crop began to mature and yield grain, the weeds made their appearance as well. The owner’s slaves came to him and said, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed into your field? Where are the weeds coming from?’. He answered, ‘I see an enemy’s hand in this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go out and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he replied, pull up the weeds and you might take up the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time, I will order the harvesters. First collect the weeds and bundle them up to burn, then gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”(Matthew 13:24-30)
Weeds, weeds, weeds! I see weeds. I pull weeds. I hoe weeds, I rototill weeds, and just when I think I can rest, more weeds grow! My spiritual life is a lot like that. My world is a lot like that. Yet, I kill enough weeds that I hope to have a wonderful harvest of vegetables and when I visit the garden, I check on them to see how they are doing and all is well.
One thing is obvious; there are a lot more weeds than vegetables in my life. Growth in the spiritual life is constant and never ending. I like to think of myself as an ok guy, but I wonder if that is because I’ve trained myself to focus on the good things about me and not the sin. I wonder if when God sees me, he sees he has a different perspective. I know that he is merciful and that he loves me as his child in spite of my many faults. At the same time, he is very patient with me, not letting me focus too much on my sinful self so that I don’t despair and become hopeless.
Like in the parable of the weeds, there will come a time in my life of harvest. I take a little comfort that at that time the weeds in my life will be dealt with and that the vegetables will be with God in his heavenly barn. I look forward to that time when I will no longer struggle to kill weeds and root out the sin in my life. Every year I enjoy the harvest. In the meantime, I know where there are some weeds that need to be killed. You can find me in the garden.
“May the Lord bless and keep you. May He let His face shine upon you, be gracious to you and give you His Peace.”
