Like it or not, they're coming. Even now, I see evidence of their stealthy advance, positioning themselves to wage an all out war on my lawn, my kingdom, my sanctuary. Oh sure, now they are small and innocuous. They blend in with the newly-green grass, like snipers. I cannot see them, but I know they're there, watching, waiting.
They lie in wait not only in the lawn, but in the midst of the flowers, and in the soil of the garden. Even there, where I plant seeds that will later nourish my family, they wait. Noxious. Poisonous. Dangerous.
How do you tell what is a weed, and what is a flower?
Sometimes, like now in early Spring, it is hard to know what is a weed and what is not. They are so effective, so cunning, they blend right in. You think that sprout is a weed, but it may be a flower, a carrot, or maybe even a volunteer tomato sprouting from a wintered-over seed. And even then, depending on where it is, that tomato may be a weed. I do not want a tomato in the middle of my lawn; but my garden? That's just fine.
You not only have to know what something is, but where it is growing to know if it is a weed or not. Growing up, my dad planted horseradish. That stuff spread everywhere, and you could not kill it off. We sprayed it with weed killer, which only made it stronger. We dug it up, only to see five plants sprout where once was one. That was--what--thirty years ago? I bet it's still there, waging war with whoever lives where we once did. That is some strong stuff, in more ways than one. In the garden, it was my dad's cherished plant. But when it spread beyond the confines of where it was supposed to be, it became the enemy.
Isn't that the way it is in life?
There are weeds waiting to spring up in the lawns and gardens of our lives. And just like the picture above, when they are in the foreground, they're actually kind of pretty. They look like something we would want. They smell good. Shoot, some people even eat them! But when you draw back, and look at the big picture, they're just weeds. They don't belong there. And if you don't deal with them soon, there will be more; a whole bunch more.
The weeds in your life may not be the same as mine. Probably are not, in fact. But we all have them. And though the blend in with those things which are good and desirable when they are small, they will grow. They will grow, and they will spread. Unchecked, they will choke out what is good, and leave you with a mess (pun not intended).
Be a good gardener.
Know what is growing in your garden. Be aware of what you are sowing, for what you sow you shall surely reap.
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