Landscaping

I got home from the gym tonight and was spending a little quality time with Kitter in the front yard when some little white flowers caught my attention. Obviously, I knew they were weeds - we haven't done a speck of landscaping, so any flowers that pop up are definitely a mistake. My first thought, though, was, "How great is God that he would even make weeds pretty for us to look at?"

Then I went a little deeper. Yeah, they're pretty little white flowers, and yes, God made them. My mind started running rampant with a comparison of those weeds in my front yard and the sins in my heart. Bear with me, please. I don't know how far I can take this, as all analogies break down eventually.

You see, weeds - especially those adorned with little flowers - look nice at first, don't they? These weeds add a little color to my otherwise bland yard. When seen as sins, these weeds are better explained. Perhaps lying gains its appeal as it gets me out of a tough situation, or gossip strikes my fancy when it makes me feel better about myself. Getting out of trouble......feeling good about myself......these aren't bad things, are they? They're nice ideas, and the "little sin" that gets us there is appealing and so easy to be drawn to. Likewise, the eye is easily captured by the one or two spots of color in a dying yard, even if those flickers of color are weeds.

When we focus in and are aware of one or two of the weeds, we feel pretty good. We think we can handle that, if we even need to. We don't have a problem, really. It's pretty well under control.

That's how things look when we focus in so closely that we think we only have one thing to deal with - we're only one step from being where we need to be. We think we're close to being a clean palette. It's not so bad.

When we step back, though, things look differently, don't they? Suddenly, by just taking a step back and getting a new perspective, so many other things come into view and the scene isn't so pretty any more. It's overwhelming. We can never take care of all of that! That will take forever! It's hopeless!

In this desperation, we might resort to running around frantically, snatching the weeds up and hurling them away. We do anything we can to make things look good on the surface, because we cringe at the idea that someone else might see the imperfections for what they are. What we neglect to realize, though, is that while the first flowers are gone after our first frenzy, the roots remain, ready to grow back thicker than ever. The problem is still there, lurking under the surface. It waits for the perfect conditions to rear its ugly head again, ambushing us in our complacency. Desperation will never rid the yard of its weeds. A real overgrowth of weeds can only be taken care of by Someone who knows what they are doing. A serious problem like that can only be remedied when we are willing to ask for help. Our desperate yanking on the weeds is only making things worse and causing us to feel bad. The situation is hopeless in our own hands.

The wonderful and hopeful thing is, though, that while we see a weed-infested, overgrown, unkempt area with no hope of improvement, God sees potential. He sees a clean slate and the possibility of a perfectly groomed landscape. He knows each and every type of weed that threatens our view, and He knows what it's going to take to get rid of it for good. He knows how long we've struggled with it. He knows what foolish methods we've used to try to get rid of them, and how long we lived with the weeds before we even recognized them for what they were. He knows how badly we want the weeds gone, because He wants them gone, too. He knows how beautiful it can be without them. He wants that for us. He made us for that.

All we have to do is stop yanking on the weeds, admit that we need some help, and allow the Gardener to do His work. It'll take a little time, and it won't be easy, but genuine beauty will be unveiled when it is finished.