If you have ever done gardening or lawn maintenance you have faced the stubborn weed. The weed that you pull out of the ground week after week only to have it grow back the next week. At some point you realize there must be some part of the weed that you aren’t fully pulling out of the ground. Some part of that weed is left rooted in the ground and so it continues to sprout again. Eventually, you either allow it to grow at will, since it does bloom tiny pretty little flowers and it doesn’t look so bad, or you go to your tool box and bring out the shovel to dig deeper to reveal the deepest part of the root so that you can pull it out and be done with that pesky weed once and for all.
In all honesty, this notion about weeds and the nature of the weed came to me as I was angrily pulling weeds from the backyard this morning. My husband and I had an argument and I needed space. That is how I found my self knees and elbows deep in dirt yanking weeds from the ground. As I was pulling I was realizing how much of a fight some weeds were putting up despite me giving all my effort to pull it up and out. I quickly realized if I wanted to be actually rid of the plant I would need a shovel. The shovel helped tremendously and as I began to dig I found way more root underneath the ground than I had imagined. Some roots were large and others were small but the roots were sprawling in every direction. Some I would begin to pull and as I would pull there would be more and more root. So, I’d follow that root nearly a foot or longer across the yard before I’d reach it’s end point.
See, weeds don’t just have roots that grow down and stay in its respective area of origin. Instead, its roots spread out and grow longer and longer till it has taken over the near by grass and plant life. Of course, the weed will eventually suffocate the roots of grass and other plants till it over takes them entirely. The weed will take over and prevent other plants from growing if left unchecked and unrooted.
We can either leave it and have a nice weed garden or uproot it all and give room for a real prospering garden to emerge. It is hard work and tools outside of yourself is necessary but it is worth it in the end when you are able to wash the dirt off, wipe your sweaty brow, and take a step back to see what you have cleared. It is a fresh start for something new and beautiful to grow.
I share this, all to say, whether you are just beginning to take interest in gardening or you are a seasoned green thumb, watch out for the weed. It does not always appear ugly or menacing but it must be eradicated and removed to preserve the good in your garden or to make room for good to enter your garden.
Don’t allow weeds to enter your life and take root, even when they may appear harmless (especially those). Do the work and dig the root out so that your life could be filled with good. I warn you to not wait so long to reach for that tool to help you dig up the root as I have. It is much easier to accept the truth sooner, that we are unable to bring good by our own will of pulling and simply reach for that shovel that was meant and designed to effectively remove that weed from your garden.