We are limiting our time outside to an hour or two a day due to JDaniel’s allergies. It is so hard. He loves to play outside, he is learning to ride a bike with training wheels and he helps with yard work like a pro but, his body makes him pay for too much time exposed to pollen.
During one of our recent brief excursions outside, JDaniel decided we needed to get rid of the weeds in front of the house. “Weeds do not belong here!” he declared.
We started in on the weeds that make their home amongst the monkey grass on either side of the steps. JDaniel just reached into the grass and pulled the weeds out. He started to grow quite a pile of them which pleased him a lot.
He noticed that my removal of weeds was taking much longer and that my pile was much smaller.
“I am winning!” JDaniel announced. Winning has become very important to him in the last year.
“It just looks like you are winning,” I said quietly to him.
“No, look I am winning,” he said firmly pointing to the pile.
“It isn’t winning if you weeds will grow right back,” I told him.
“When you just yank the weeds out, you leave their roots. With roots still growing underground, the weeds will grow right back up.” I continued.
“Oh!” he replied now pulling the weeds a little more slowly and checking for roots.
Sitting with JDaniel in the sun pulling weeds up by the roots caused me to think about the sin I have been praying will be removed from my heart. I have been challenged about working with God to remove some things that have taken root in my heart just as the weeds have in the monkey grass.
Sins like pride, selfishness, and impatience seem to have become more of a challenge since JDaniel was born or maybe they are just more visible. I can hear them in my voice when I talk with him. I can hear them in his voice as he responds to me.
Sometimes God speaks to you while doing everyday things like weeding your yard. I am so glad I was listening to him this time and was able to start praying for help with the weeds in my heart that have taken root.
The same lesson JDaniel learned about weeds can be applied to sin. Sins can not be pulled out quickly without leaving roots. They are going to take time to work on.
Someday I hope to share this object lesson about sin with him, but for now, I will leave him thinking weeds.
This post is linked to the third in a series of posts focusing on my heart. The first is called Knowing There is Scar Tissue on My Heart and the second is Opening My Heart to Motherhood.
This series is a departure from my regular posts, but it is where God has been working on my heart to help me grow as a mom. Since I write about being a mom, I think sharing how I am growing as a mom fits the mission of my blog.
Hugs!! We’re all a work-in-progress, aren’t we??
We so are!
patience- the sin I pray about often. I’ll need to be patient with myself as well as God works on my own weeds. Thanks for the honest post.
Jen
You are so right! We do need to be patient as the work is being done with and for us.
Sounds like a meaningful lesson in more than one way.
I love lessons that come with layers of learning.
Gardening and working in the yard can be a great time to connect with yourself and what’s on your heart. Gives you a chance to hear God and his message for you sometimes.
It is one of my besting reflecting and thinking times.
Wow – God was really speaking to you there. I’m glad you were able to hear the message. 🙂
I am so glad it wasn’t a noisy day and I was able to listen to them.
Such a beautiful and honest post.
Thank you my friend!
I know what you mean about seeing your sin more clearly when you have children. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by my sin, and then I just have to cling to Jesus. It’s crazy how terrible I am and I am not just saying that! I’m so grateful that He pulls our sins out by the roots.
JD is so blessed to have a mommy who is self reflective and knows who to depend on! Thanks for this post. I loved it.
I know just what you mean. How blessed we are to know that He is there to guide us through things knowing despite knowing all there is to know about us.
This was beautiful. I understand that it is different for you and for that I continue to applaud you for being so open and honest. I think sharing this sort of thing shows the inside of you as well as everything else you share. You’re an incredible mom, and I can tell you’re an incredible person. May G-d show you what you feel you are looking for or needing. I hope that made sense, I’m not one to talk about beliefs or G-d freely that way, but I see what you are wishing for and wanted to touch on it if I could. SOmehow. Huge hugs to you, mama.
Some bloggers share who they are in every post. I love to read their words. This is a post that shares some of my heart. I am so glad you liked it.
I’m glad you shared your thoughts about this, and it is a wonderful analogy.
=)
Thank you!Some post just write themselves. This is one of them.
What a beautiful analogy! JDaniel is blessed to have you as him mom. I think he is going to grow into one amazing man with a very big, truthful and faithful heart.
I so want that for him!
I have some weeds in my heart too. But I am working on taking them out by the roots, for sure.
This is a lovely analogy and I’m sure applies to us all in some way. Lovely words…
I think roots ultimately are the only way. I prefer pulling them out gently instead of yanking them out.
What a lovely way for your son to learn about an important life lesson. We are all challenged. The fact you are aware of everything in your life is such a blessing.
I love that He is always working on my heart.
Weeds are sometimes hard to get rid of – they seem to keep growing back. Praying about it is the only way to keep them at bay. My current struggle is with worry. Before I had my son, I wouldn’t have considered myself a worrier, but things change. I have to remind myself to trust God and know that all will be okay.
I will be praying for you! Worry is a tough are to work on.
I like this new direction and think it fits in perfectly with who you are. 🙂
Funny how God can use something simple to speak to us!
I love that the guidance on areas to work is simple even if the work on them is hard.
I like how you reflect on pulling weed with sin! It’s a beautiful comparison, and there is some truths in it..Thanks for a thoughtful post to ponder on!
Thank you so much for stopping by! I love to read your comments.
poor thing ith allergies. I hate those pollen . you did well
I know it helps plants grow and bees use it, but I really don’t like it.
Pulling weeds by the roots is not
as easy as it sounds..
nice post
Happy Spring
Sandy
You are right. It can be very painful.
That was a very good analogy and you are not alone.
Thank you for the reminder. I really love having you stop by.
I am so glad you were able to spend some time with JDaniel in the yard. I really appreciate your honest post. Patience is a toughie for me too and I know that every day I ask God to help me in that area, He provides plenty of opportunities. Thanks for sharing this! 🙂
Patience is one of those areas you hestiate to pray for help with, because challenges can come.
Nature truly has a way of showing us important lessons.
I am in awe of all the lessons God choses to teach us through simple things like weeds.
I’m happy JDaniel can at least get some fresh air outside. Good comparison and food for thought.
We so look forward to low pollen day. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Funny how when I started to read about the roots I found myself thinking of my relationship with God. What a great lesson and thank you for sharing!
Erika
Artful Rising
There are so many things in nature that lead me back to thinking about the Creator too.
That is a great lesson! I’m not looking forward to this allergy season.
I hope it isn’t bad where you are. South Carolina is horrible right now. We never had a winter cold snap to clear out the pollen from last year.
Love reading about your smart little fella:) Hope the allergies are nice to him this season….
His eyes seem to be giving him the hardest time. We may have to start using drops.
Oh hugs for him. It’s funny one of my sons(Daniel too) had so many troubles with allergies growing up, and then now that he’s in his 20’s it’s like he never had them! So who knows!
I am so hoping he grows out of them.
I like your analogy, and don’t we all have some roots that need pulling like that.
It is tough to deal with them, but my heart will be better if I keeping seeking God’s guidance on how to weed them out.
Yeah, we all deal with those weeds:)
They just keep coming up!
What a very insightful analogy! So glad I read it.
I am so glad you stopped by!
Great food for thought! I feel sorry that JDaniel has allergies but I’m glad he spends some time outdoors learning important lessons.
I love South Carolina, but its spring and summer plants don’t like JDaniel.
Beautiful analogy! It’s so true. I need to get to the root of some of my sins too, sister!
It think we all have some. Working on getting rid of them is a hard decision to make sometimes.
Powerful! Sometimes the “roots” are easily pulled out and sometimes they hold firm for a very long time. I’m glad that you and God are weeding your garden of life.
You are so right. It is the ones that have been there a long time that can be the hardest to get rid off.
I love this illustration! I often think of this too when gardening 🙂 We definately need to get those roots of sin out..otherwise the weeds will definately keep coming back. You are a wise Momma to share such things with your son someday.
Great Post!
Blessings!
Sins like weeds likes to sneak right back in. Thank you for you wonderful comment.
I love this post, it’s a peek into your heart! Motherhood is all about growing….
I thought I would be teaching him and he is one teaching me. (JDaniel and God)
I really enjoyed this post. I think we forget that when we become adults, our growing up isn’t over. We still need to continue to improve ourselves. Your post is a wonderful reminder of that.
It looks like I will be growing and learning for a long time to come.
Did enjoy this *R* post too – and agree motherhood is all about growing.
Look forward to *seeing* you again soon!
I have learned a lot of myself since JDaniel arrived. It has been liking learning lessons all over again.
How adorable! Yes, you must get the weeds by the roots! Please when you are done come over to my house 🙂
JDaniel loves to weed. When the pollen count gets low he would love to weed other people’s yards.
What about the sin of not giving yourself enough credit for the great things you do as a mom…not heaping guilt on you, or anything, but I think you need to cut yourself some slack. My sense is that you’re an awesome mom who is very giving. 😉 Hope you have a great week and the two of you can enjoy lots of outdoor time without too much pollen!
I think it is important to reflect on areas you need to work on from time to time.
So beautifully written! I would only offer my observation that what some would call a weed might be a wildflower in disguise. It would be a shame to destroy those.
How true! You need to be careful what you are pulling out!
So true and so relevant to my life today. Four little kids can fill my life with such love some days and others I just don’t know how I’m going to make it. With patience…
I have those days too.
Motherhood brings up all sorts of important things for us, doesn’t it? I’m glad you posted about something that is obviously so close to your heart.
I think motherhood gives you different glimpses of yourself and helps you see things you need to work on.
That’s such a pity that he is so allergic, maybe when he gets older it disappears. You can send him over we have weeds too, lol !
I hope he grows out of them soon. He so wants to be outside.
If you lived closer, I would bring him over to pull weeds for you.
This is a lovely connection you’ve made between the lesson he is learning and what you’re working on. I was just trying to explain the weeding process to my older son yesterday, (which was cut short by the little one eating the weeds, dirt, and rocks!) and I never thought about it like this. I, too, have some sins that I need to get out, roots and all. Thank you for making me think about this.
I find being a mom has lead to my learning lessons on many levels along side JDaniel.
You have used wise words to make such a wonderful connection with the weeding process. I often reflect about my choices that are wrong when I do weeding. I use to have a beautiful climbing rose bush at my old house and the “chokies” used to climbing it. They are those annoying weeds with thorns and I enjoyed praying and pulling them. That rose bush was always so pretty. But now whoever moved into that old house dug my pretty rose rose up. I hope you will pray for me. I have had a difficult time losing my long time pet Boots, a cat I had for 14 years. I also have had many difficulties at my job and I could use lots of help from my friends with prayer. Thank you and enjoy your weekend. You are such a wonderful mom.
You are in my prayers!
Beautiful analogy … and great reminder! I stumbled and tweeted your post. Deb @ LivingMontessoriNow.com
Thank you so much! I love that you liked this post.
what a great post… and a great way for us all to remember that…
hope that things are looking up for us… as your first person that commented said, we are all works in progress…
Thank you! I think things look great here. We love to grow and learn.
This Really was a wonderful post for the letter “R”…
It is so true that it takes time to Remove the weeds Roots from our hearts…
You must be gentle in order to avoid just Ripping the superficial parts off…
Thanks for linking!
A+
Such a beautiful post. And a powerful analogy.
((hugs)) and happy Mother’s Day to you. I know that this one will be a bit difficult. I’m thinking about you.
Thank you! I agree this will be a tough one, but it helps to know she is where she wanted to be!