Contrary to what they would like me to believe, thistles are not flowers.
Oh, they try very hard to camouflage themselves by sprouting buds and flowers, but no matter how much "pretty" they use to try to fit in, the fact still remains that they are weeds. . .and have to be pulled from my garden.
The question is why? Like I said, in some ways, they look like a flower and could blend right in if I let them. The short answer is that weeds tend to overrun a garden. They soak up all the moisture that should be going to the desirable plants, and eventually, they choke out and kill off everything around them.
Steady streams of sweat were rolling down every inch of my body yesterday as I was fussing in the dirt, trying to eradicate these nuisances from the flower garden. Merely pulling the tops of these suckers would do me no good; I had to get all the way to the root. . .and the roots were so deep! After a few hours of elbow grease and half of the moisture in my body, the harvest was complete, and the nefarious marauders were deposited in the grove.
Then, the next task was to prune the weigela and shrub roses. Though it pained me to hack and slash, I knew that they needed to be dead-headed and the dead branches removed in order for the plants to generate new growth. At first glance, it doesn't seem to make sense to snip and snap an already healthy-looking shrub. Nevertheless, I have been assured that my efforts will be rewarded in the long run.
For a while now, there has been a steady process of pruning and pulling going on in my own life. I have been reading Francis Chan's book, Forgotten God, and on page 50, he writes, " The Holy Spirit of God will mold you into the person you were made to be. This often incredibly painful process strips you of selfishness, pride, and fear."
Since I am admittedly heavy on selfishness and pride with a side of jealousy, it seems the process is taking longer than I'd like. Just when it seems that I am making progress, something unexpected (this morning, it was a FB post) will come out of nowhere and catch me off-guard. The good news is that the Holy Spirit has been right alongside me when I start to back-peddle, helping to show me when and where selfishness, pride, and jealousy entered the equation. Like I said, it's a slow process, alternatively filled with frustration, humility, shame, and gratitude.
Like the thistles in my garden, the terrible triumvirate in my life has to go. At first blush, they are unnoticeable, like the thistles, because they blend right in. If I listen to the me-first cultural mantra around me, putting my needs, wants, and "rights" first is appropriate and desirable. But like the thistles in my garden, a belief system like that will result in destruction in the long run. If it's all about me, and if I am completely independent, what need do I have of a God? And why would I ever read or listen to His Word: "'Love The Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matthew 22:37-9)?
All this pulling and pruning is no fun. It hurts - both on the side and from the outside. It makes me look at my true motivations and makes me feel the subsequent shame concerning my own actions and thoughts toward others and myself. It leaves me wondering and confused about others actions toward me. And like the thistle roots in my garden, the roots are so deep! As a self-disciplined person, I am upset that this process is taking so long, and yet, there is the source of the problem - self has to go into the backseat so that God can be in the driver's seat. <sigh>
And yet, the Holy Spirit helps me to find joy in the journey - to know that all this is necessary in order for me to become the person He knows I will be, and to realize that He is truly all I need.
"I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he trims clean so that it will be even more fruitful." John 15: 1-2
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