More weed stories...

More lessons learned from weeding...perhaps when our hands are busy our ears (and minds) are more receptive?

April 27, 2010 (Tuesday again!)

Some days you just plow through hard work, not seeing any deeper meaning or purpose in what you’re doing, beyond achieving the goal of ripping out weeds, plugging up sprinklers—like dealing with repairing past mistakes—digging and covering up holes, and preparing the dirt for a plastic and mulch cover, in order to make it low maintenance. Oh wait, I’m beginning to see the metaphors here…perhaps some reminders that God has to do some of these things, and that we have to not only let Him, but invite Him, in order for the transformation to take place…

Laying out plastic under the mulch first required clearing the weeds, spraying (soap-based weed killer, of course!) what was left, getting rid of extra layers of dirt, and finally smoothing out the area as best I could with a shovel. Then letting the dirt get dry and hard so no weeds would grow. Finally put on the plastic sheeting, fastening the ends with rocks, spreading some pebbles to keep the plastic sheet down, and spreading the mulch (had to make a run for more mulch—miscalculated the amount—isn’t that how it usually goes? (at least for me!): We think we’re prepared for ‘anything’ and then find out we are short. That’s a loud wake up call for heaven!)… Finally placed the stepping stones down and the potted plants—and it looks lovely, as I’d pictured. It’s good to have a picture in mind to keep us going, and pray for lots of energy and endurance J.

Lesson 2 for today: You see a big mess of weeds and you start pulling them out—feels great—the mess decreases…and then you can see the smaller weeds, coming up just beneath the big ones, and ready to take their place with just a few more drops of rain and sunshine. BUT, if you didn’t pull out the big ones, you wouldn’t even see the little ones, which will become big ones if not discovered: Could it be that when we confess our big sins, the little ones become clearer? It seems when we take that first step towards our Father Confessor, He opens His arms and helps us see that He desires so much more for us—get rid of large, medium and small unwashed rags, and make way for beautiful, shining clothes! Amen!