Weeds ...Friend or Foe?

Weeds…. Friend or Foe?

After being away from home for several weeks I came home to flower beds in sore need of my attention. The weeds had grown and flourished in my absence. So, I put my big girl gardening panties on and spent each morning for a week out in the yard – weeding. NOT, my favorite thing to do. Due to my MS I am very heat sensitive and can only be outside when the sun is not directly on me. So, I have from 6:30 to 9:10 each morning to accomplish great things – ha!

With only my pups for company I have a lot of time to ponder and reflect while I am weeding. My mind is filled with thoughts of things I have recently read, on my daughters and grandsons, my hubby and just life in general. It is amazing what the Spirit can teach you when the world around you is quiet and you can actually listen.

As I crawled along in the dirt , patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) separating the flowers from the weeds, I found myself pondering the creation story in Genesis and Moses: Moses 4:23-25 “And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said: ….cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorry shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou shalt return unto the ground…..”

Well, I had the “sweat of thy face” part down pat – I was pouring sweat off my head like a sprinkler! However, I found as I mopped my face with my sleeve that I didn’t mind this as much as I usually do, these weeds were a reminder to me that I live in a fallen world. I don't belong here and yearn for my Father in Heavens home. Being here on this earth is a temporary part of my journey to immortality and eternal life. I am here but a short time to obtain a physical body and develop Christ-like attributes and characteristics. It is my opportunity to learn about myself and become the best me that I can be. Brad Wilcox states in his book Changed Through His Grace: “… in our pre-earth life our Father could have simply given us enough grace and strength to perfect us instantly. This would have made obtaining a body and life on earth completely unnecessary. God would never have put us through mortality if He could have accomplished the same purpose by giving us an immortal body instantly and spiritual maturity with a wave of His hand.”  However, it is through the struggles that we learn to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is through the hardships and difficulties that we learn to rely on God and develop our spiritual maturity. It is the daily practicing, repenting and learning that causes the gospel teachings to “sink in deep and become a part of who we really are.” Our personal transformation is never something we can do for ourselves no matter how long we practice – it is the divine help, feedback, direction and mentoring we receive along the way that makes ultimate perfection possible. And just like the weeds in my garden, those imperfections and frailties must continually be attended to, weeded and rooted out while nurturing and feeding the flowers.

So I began to talk to each little weed and thank them for teaching me this morning of a plan far greater than I – a plan wherein my Father in Heaven loves me beyond measure and has provided me with all of the tools I need to make it back to live with him. And if I will but endure – perhaps I will be able to spend time in his celestial gardens and find the much needed peace and joy we are promised.