Weed Tough

I have the strangest thoughts sometimes.  I was looking out the window a few minutes ago at the weeds one of my sons recently cut down, and I noticed that instead of giving up they just bloomed close to the ground where they were cut.  I thought, “I wish I was that tough.  That when a frustrated boy whacked my head off I just decided to bloom anyway.”  I guess that is a somewhat different spin on the saying, “Bloom where you are planted.”  It would be nice when things are really awful to have the tenacity to just smile anyway and know I have the joy of the Lord.  In reality a lot of the time when the weed whacker hits me, I just lay there drying up in the sun.

Another thing about weeds is they will grow anywhere.  They come up in cracks in any sidewalk or patio.  Just give them a teaspoon of soil and a few drops of water and here they come.  They aren’t like me.  I have to wait until the conditions are perfect until I bloom.  “God you can’t possibly use me yet, I haven’t learned enough.  My home is a mess, my kids are a mess, I’m a mess!”  God responds, “If you have Me, you have everything you need.  And besides, it’s not about you doing it anyway, but Me doing things through you.”

One of my favorite things about weeds is being presented with a little fist full of “flowers” from my children.  They are so happy and proud to give Mommy a beautiful bouquet.  All spring long my counter is adorned with vases filled with these offerings of love.

I want to learn to be like weeds.  I want to bloom where I’m planted.  I want to use the resources God gives me, and not complain about what I don’t have.  When someone is mean to me I want to be able to forgive and grow past the hurt.  And at the end of my life I would be so happy to have Jesus present me to His Father as a beautiful bouquet, an offering of love. 

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.  James 1:12