Did you ever have an “a-ha!” experience, which seemed so obvious that you can’t believe it didn’t occur to you earlier? I was pulling some weeds over the weekend and was perplexed by a couple that I couldn’t figure out if they were truly weeds or an intentionally planted flower or bush of some sort. I stopped and added the title of this blog as a note to my phone.
The whole “weeding” process is important for a lot of reasons (I am far from any expert gardener, but some of them are so dang invasive that I can imagine them choking the life out of my nearby plants trying to thrive.)
My research on this whole weed thing got a little out of hand pretty quickly… lots of information… For example, did you know:
- Weeds protect the soil? (Now, think of life’s weeds: Those troublesome situations we find ourselves in. I think there is a lesson here for us –– they protect us!)
- Weeds may fertilize the soil? (Again, the challenges almost always make us stronger. Growth almost requires weeds.)
- Weeds condition the soil? Specifically, “they provide channels for rain and air to penetrate.” (And the parallels to life’s journey continued on as I read … but I’ll stop here.)
I’ve always loved how Jesus teaches us in parables. He has a good one about the weeds. Seeds, too, but I will save that for another blog post.
For today, this thought about beautiful “weeds” really resonates. “Weeds are nature’s way of healing itself.” (Weeds- Guardians of the Soil, Cocannouer)
We need to pay attention to beauty. Even the type that comes disguised.