I can't really say I am a Gardner, but yesterday I tried. For months I have been hearing my younger sister talk about this garden she has tended to. It has tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, strawberries, melons, etc. Impressive! Considering we live in a desert! The weeds had overrun her garden since she started school, and I felt obligated to help her, knowing how much she had worked on it.
I went to work, got my gloves, and started pulling weeds. At first glance, the garden seemed green, thriving, and relatively uninjured by any weeds. But as I spread my arms around each plant I noticed more and more invasive weeds. Shocked, I continued pulling and noticed a few things along the way.
(1) Weeds grew closest to the roots, and closest to the fruit.
The obnoxious weeds huddled around the root of each plant, especially the tomatoes. They swarmed it in an effort, at least appearing to me, to blend in with the natural branches of the plant. but a close look, and a little pull determined where the true vine lied.
Also the fruit, the place where it all comes together, the production of the whole plant had weeds flanking every side. It was as if the fruit was born surrounded by a host of weeds.
(2) Green can be deceiving.
Weeds are green, the vines are green, and most of the vegetables start out green. So at times I found myself in deep concentration trying to eliminate only weeds, not the precious plants. I didn't always succeed, leaving me considering upon the intelligence of these weeds, taking on the color even of the plant.
(3) Know your vine.
Along with the green problem, knowing the vines. At one time I was trimming up around a melon vine, when I noticed a vine a little off from the melons. So I went away pulling, and unfortunately took out the watermelon! I didn't take note of how each appeared, and so when it was a little off, I ripped it out, showing again my lack of experience.
~ Gardening of Life ~
Life is often compared to gardening, but my life never has been, until yesterday. I had the time to reflect during my little rampage on the weeds of the world on how it relates to me.
I too grow amongst weeds, the weeds are often found closest to me. Arguments with family, difficulty identifying worthwhile jobs and activities, deception found in the marketplace and everywhere I go. The wrong seems to always want to portray itself ever closer and ever more like the green of the good. In these times I wonder, "Can i possibly weed through it all?"
Most definitely I can. Often I do make the mistakes, watermelon for weeds, and weeds for watermelon, but the plant is not lost all together. It can still grow, it can return, it can be fruitful again. After my experience yesterday, I see the need to be more diligent in the home. Weeding cannot be a every now and again activity. Judgement is blurred, risks are heightened, and consequences more severe. But if in the short moments of my life I take the time to prune, evaluate, and clear up around my roots, I will be better prepared to give a more plentiful fruit day after day.
