Here I am back at my desk with a warm cup of coffee on a very rainy day. Many of you will be shocked to discover that I spent time weeding my garden this week. You probably didn't even know I had a garden. To be honest, it came with the house.
My youngest daughter joined me in the quest to rid our flower bed of miscellaneous weeds and wild grasses. At first she thought it would be easy to grab a handful of the green stuff and pull. Of course she only ended up with wisps of leaves in her fists. The root and some of the plant taunted her from the mulch.
"That's just going to grow again tomorrow isn't it?" she said.
"You are right," I answered. "Each one needs to be plucked out individually."
"But that takes a long time."
"Yes, but if we take care of one at a time, we will have a beautiful garden. Those weeds will stay away much longer." I answered.
I've been telling myself the same thing for two months. On thing at a time.
Stress has hit our family like a hurricane. When we have two urgent priorities, something else happens and we must add another. Car repairs, crashing computers, water leaks, hurt feelings, financial debacles all demand my attention. If I try to grasp the whole list in my fists, I end up with strands of success, but the roots remain to pull out tomorrow.
Don't misunderstand me. I know that God has everything under control. I am certain that His plan is perfect even when I feel like I'm drowning. (Psalm 69: Lord save me. The waters are up to my neck) I've never doubted God's faithfulness, but I can still fail to have enough hours in the day to get everything done. There are some thing you just can't delegate to others.
So here I am. A long list of weeds to pull. Instead I am drinking coffee and blogging... and praying. I am praying for YOU.
Are you overwhelmed? Maybe your To Do list has grown over night. Maybe you are single parent trying to keep half an acre cleared by yourself. Maybe you have guilt or anger that is suffocating your joy.
Take a deep breath and pray. Then as God leads you, take hold of each weed one by one.
