Isn’t that a beautiful sight?! Sorry it’s a little “screeny” but I took it from my kitchen window. Do you want a tour? Starting on the right side, there is asparagus that we haven’t enjoyed yet – just planted last year. Then there’s cauliflower and cabbage, five rows of potatoes, a new row of beans because all the rain earlier in the season drown the others. Next is one row of carrots (should have planted more, but they are such a pain!); then three half rows of beans/corn. You really can’t see my blight infested tomatoes or onions, but you really don’t WANT to see them!
The garden is 95% weedless and this morning I raked it. I guess I’ll always be the farmer’s daughter, but there is nothing so beautiful as healthy plants against newly raked ground!
So, what’s the Most Beautiful Impossible Weed? MINT! Somewhere in the past before I inherited this “parsonage garden,” mint entered into the ground. At first, I wasn’t sure what it was. I knew I had never seen a weed like it before. I did notice the nice smell it produced as I pulled it from every inch of the garden! After some inquiries I learned that it was indeed mint.
Corn may come and go, potatoes may rot in the ground, tomatoes may be blighted to death but NOTHING will rid this plot of mint! If the Lord would have asked if He would find mint instead of faith when He returned, the resounding answer would have been, “YES!”
I suppose it’s not any more impossible than the other weeds – they’re all pretty faithful at returning! Perhaps it’s because man put it there and not nature that it’s such a bother in my mind.
So is there a spiritual parallel? Weeds most generally portray sin to me. Our sin nature is much like most of the weeds in my garden: they are part of the curse from the beginning of time. (It’s amazing to me that Satan is so “unoriginal.” He’s still using the same lie that he told Eve: God isn’t good; He’s not really on your side; my way is so much better….)
But mint is different – it has a purpose. I love to make mint tea with my mint. It has a lovely smell and the plant is pretty! To me, mint is like our excuses against salvation or sanctification (growing in Christ-likeness). What is that sin-weed that you cherish – the one that keeps you from God? Perhaps it’s independence, or free-thinking. Or maybe it’s religion or tradition. None of these are bad things, but they become deadly when they push the truth from us. What is that “pet sin” that you keep making excuses for in your life? I could leave the mint alone, justifying its existence, but all I would have then is a garden of mint – no other fruit or vegetable could stand against it. The same is true about sin that we refuse to surrender to our Master.
I may never get rid of the mint, and if that paralleled our encounter with sin, we would be of all men most miserable! Oh, what a burden to never be able to rid ourselves of sin! But, what can wash away my sin – nothing but the blood of Jesus! Praise His Name!
I pray that if something came to mind – your mint-sin-weed, that you will surrender it to God and let Him pull it out of your garden of life. On this one, NIKE has the best saying: JUST DO IT! You will NEVER regret it! (By the way, did you know that Nike was the Greek goddess for victory? Just a piece of useless trivia!)
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 1 Corinthians 15:19
Beyond Common Sense 