I was reminded again this evening, as I walked around in our yard looking over the flowers I worked so hard to plant, how much nurturing is required to grow good things, pretty things, and how left unattended even for a short while allows for all sorts of ugliness to creep in. Weeds spring up so quickly and work their way into the very center, the very heart of the plant. They surround it, stifle its growth, and conceal its beauty. What an illustration of the heart and life of man.

In order to grow the things we intend, food or flowers, we have to weed and feed, water and nourish. Weeds grow without any effort on our part. They need no input from us, just lack of interference. The only way to keep them away is the disciplined approach of uprooting. I have to look closely to find them all and carefully pluck them up to avoid harming the plant. Such a careful way is required for tending what is special, what we want to preserve. It takes time, thought, hard work and gentle, diligent hands.

The only gardens that thrive and yield aplenty are those that are carefully planted and consistently tended. An on again off again approach bears little if any food or beauty. Such it is with the spirit life in us. May we see and learn the lessons displayed in nature.

Dear Lord, please help us to tend our hearts with all diligence in daily prayer, seeking always Your will and Your ways.