I was weeding my flower bed and as I worked, I was thinking about how weeds seem to grow no matter what.  They don’t have to be watered, fertilized or pruned.  Weeds seem to spring up over night.  Roots can grow deep and hang on for dear life.  On the other hand, flowers are not like that.  The type of soil and climate have to be considered.  Some need direct sunlight while others require shade.   Watering, fertilizing, weeding, and pruning are all necessary for healthy plants.  While weeds are more apt to withstand any weather condition, flowers are more fragile. The result of tender loving care in a flower bed brings beauty, joy, and admiration to those who are around it.  On the other hand, not dealing with the weeds can mean an unsightly flower bed that is choking out what one really wants to grow.

The same can be true in our lives.  Weeds of hate, anger, jealousy, envy, bitterness, etc., can spring up overnight, or even at a moments notice.   If we don’t deal with them, they can cause a lot of damage to one personally as well as to those who are the object of the “weeds”.   When you spend time with people who exhibit those kinds of weeds, they can choke out the good plants you are trying to nurture in your own life.  Sometimes you may be unaware that weeds are starting to grow, but then one day you discover that weeds have taken over and are killing your joy and love for life itself.  Relationships are affected.  They are like a poison to everything good in you.

Plants, such as love, joy, caring, sincerity, hospitality, generosity, understanding, peacemaking, etc., need to be carefully planted and nurtured.  We must continually guard what we are allowing to grow in our own lives.  What one feeds on will come out in not only our speech, but also in everything we do and our very attitudes.  The Bible is a source for helping one develop the kind of traits that are positive and pleasing to be around.

If you are finding yourself angry, jealous, bitter, etc., maybe you need to look at who you are hanging around with and what you are reading and watching.  You need to know that sometimes we all need help dealing with the difficult things, we need Jesus to take the bad and replace it with good.  He is an amazing gardener of hearts.  I would rather have Him deal with the weeds in my life and replace them with the good plants, than to live a life of misery that the weeds cause.  Wouldn’t you desire the same thing?