Vigilant

I work outside pruning trees, mowing, edging, weeding, planting, etc. Recently we have begun a project to clear out an area that has become so overgrown with weeds. Now these are not just get-down-on-your-hands-and-knees kind of weeds but rather they are tree-and-bush-look-a-like-and-therefore-need-a-chainsaw-to-remove-them kind of weeds. Now how in the world do weeds become looking like trees... they go unnoticed. They are simply allowed to grow and grow and grow. No one goes in and weed-whacks them down or gets down on their hands and knees to pull them out when they are small. Whether it be it's too tedious, too annoying, or didn't want or have the time to give it attention, they grew and grew. To the untrained eye they actually do look like bushes and trees but thanks to three years of working with landscaping my eye is recognizes those aren't supposed to be there.

Often times this can be my life. Certain areas are well manicured and taken care of and look great. Yet because of that I spend so much time on those areas I neglect others. Slowly weeds take residence. I see them at a glance but hurry over to the other areas to groom yet again thinking "I'll get to that later. It's not that bad." And it's true they are nothing but little tiny weeds of no importance they even blend into the grass. Time passes, it may not even be long under the right conditions - mid 60s and rain - and these weeds are getting tall. But because of those same conditions everything else is growing like crazy so now busyness sets in. There is so much to do and that area definitely does not take precedent. So once again, it is neglected. By the time I get the rest of the areas under control, I'm exhausted and have no energy to even think about tackling those weeds.
Those perfect conditions come around again or maybe dry spells under which the circumstances require me to water the other areas to keep them alive but now these weeds are so well developed they survive even the drought. Time continues to pass and now I hardly recognize the need for the weeds removal. They have become bushes and trees and they look pretty good, quite natural. So hey.. why the need to put the time and energy in to clear those out; they are a part of my landscape.
Only... I have forgotten that they now completely block the view I had. I used to be able to see across the beautiful waters and enjoy the full picture of my land... now I see bushes and trees. I remember there used to be beautiful flowers here but they have been choked by the weeds but there's even more I became so used to seeing them that I actually believed them to be good - to be trees and bushes, therefore not only forgetting the real view but I thought they were something they weren't.
I miss the beautiful view when I could clearly see across the waters. Only now instead of a couple of hours on my knees to remove some weeds I have to spend days, most likely weeks, cutting down trees and bushes, fighting vines, and itching from poison ivy...all because I decided to neglect those tiny weeds. If only I had taken the time a little each week to clear them...
I'm still working at clearing that view and I'm starting to see the beauty again, it's scared with stumps but while it won't ever be quite the same but there will be new beauty. To retain this beauty will take work. My eyes have to stay sharp on the look out for weeds; especially ones disguised as beautiful plants. Then I have to remove them right away or replay this whole scene again.



Can you relate?
Have you neglected them to the point where you need a chainsaw or can you still get down on your knees and pull them out?
Have they become to natural that you can't recognize their real identity (not good but sin)?
Do you even care that sin is taking over?
Are you being vigilant to keep sin out and keep your eyes clear and focused on Christ?

Aftermath of a Bomb

In college, there was a very familiar routine of moving. You did it to move into the dorms, partially to break between semesters, and then once again for the summer. This routine required mess. The room that had become your space and home had to be teared down. The once nicely organized room (whether neatly or chaotically - whichever was your preference) became the aftermath of a bomb with clothes, books, papers, and random things you didn't even know you acquired sprawled over every inch of your room. No one is surprised by this, people simply remark, "It has to get messy before it gets clean." But how come that saying is the "duh" concept when cleaning a room but when "cleaning" in life we are suddenly so surprised?

I have found myself surprised by the messiness of life currently. I have seen more than two relationships broken in about a month, loved ones in a continuous cycle of being on the outlook for jobs, being a part from loved ones for a long period of time and then only having a short time with them when reunited, experiencing gut wrenching pain (at times literally), being in the limbo of transition, watching friends go-go-go and on the verge of burnout, watching friends leave, trying to have discernment, experiencing the ache of disappointing many, learning immense amounts about myself, listening to friends having to process through a possible permanent separation, and more. Why am I surprised? This.. utter chaos and mess.. this is what has to happen in order for things to get better... right? 

Still the uncertainty of every shakes me. The pain in those around me breaks my heart. What do I do when I keep trying to clean the room but nothing is getting better or worse it just is? 

This has been my overwhelmed state. 

But this morning... 

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. (Romans 12:12)

What if there are times instead of seeing a rather immediate clean room we are to just to continue to be diligent in cleaning knowing it might not get better for a long time? Will we rejoice in the hope that someday it will be better? Will we be patient in that mess? Will we be continuously praying?