Weeks of high temperatures over 90 and high pollen count kept me inside, gazing at my flower garden through my dining room picture window.
The Hibiscus bed is overgrown with weeds and asparagus. The 6-foot-tall plant growing beside my bright red hibiscus in the west flower bed looks nice but is really a weed that got away from me.
Hibiscus thrive in hot weather, as apparently this weed does, so they have kept pace with each other in height, all summer long. The ground was so hard from the drought and heat, and the weeds so tough and well-rooted, that I couldn’t pull them out.
Pulling the weeds brings up the adjacent plants and the soil around them, so the bed will need to be worked, the soil broken up, and the perennial plants that the weeds killed will have to be replaced.
I should have put on a doctor’s mask for allergies, got down on my knees on the garden kneeler, and pulled those weeds when they were small and easy to pull. The weather was nicer in the spring, and I could have enjoyed working in the garden before the heat set in. If I had only pulled the weeds when they were small.
Sin in like that. If I had taken the time to get down on my knees and pulled out the “little weeds,” those little aggravating sins, I wouldn’t have to contend with the 6-foot-tall weeds in my heart now.
“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us…” Hebrews 12:1 NKJV
What is the little sin that has wrapped itself around you? Is it just a tiny cute plant? “Oh, it’s nothing. I can quit that any time.” Is it crowding out the good plants in your heart? Does it take the place of your Bible study time? Or your prayer time? Are you skipping church and fellowship of believers? Is it taking over your life?
Now while it is small, pull it out. Sure, it might hurt a little. It might pull out a little dirt with it, but I promise, it won’t hurt anything like it will if you let it grow and take over the garden of your life.