Spiritual Weed Pulling
By Deana Molinari
Weeding is one of the troubling chores our family shares The location of the weeds really doesn’t matter. They are all troubling. We have weeds in the trees, the cement driveway, the flowers, the vegetables, the grass, the berries, the gravel, and the fields. We never are weed free. In addition to our own weeds, we found weeding other’s property helped neighbors.
We used lots of weed pulling techniques. Lots of elbow grease during all seasons of the year is a basic ingredient to our strategies. We also tried other techniques to eradicate strong, healthy plants growing in the wrong places. There are chemicals, seasonal burning, shovels, trowels, hoes, sun blocks, water deprivation, special soils for seeds, altered seeds, lots of plants, prayer, and pre teens. Weeding required more than the above.
The family discovered clean flower beds demanded obedience, strength, sacrifice of time and pleasure, knowledge of what constitutes a weed and best techniques for removal. The children learned to set standards on what was a complete job, honesty, endurance, listening, remembering, maintaining tools, and courage. Why was courage added to the list? For several reasons.
A row of weeds requires fortitude. Just looking down a long row can produce fear of failure, self-doubt, and dislike for the task. The children discovered that just mentioning weeds produced negative feelings and a desire to be anywhere else than home.
A son once said, “I will be glad to go to heaven because there aren’t any weeds there.”
Imagine his surprise to learn that the angels pull weeds. His mom shared the following.
Matthew 13:41-43 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
Yes, it was quite a shock to find the angels also work on nasty weed issues. Makes me wonder how I can rid my life of the tares that trouble spiritual growth. I am so grateful for “repentance” which is the best all-around and quickest sin removal tool in my work shed.
As a child I found repentance difficult, but consequences of sin were worse. When I sinned, I felt miserable. I knew I had given in to my desires, that I had hurt others besides myself, and even disappointed my Heavenly Father. I stood alone without the companionship of the Holy Spirit. Worst still, I sometimes enjoyed sinning and it seemed I was good at doing wrong things. My self-worth frequently took mighty hits. I didn’t enjoy other’s poor opinions of my behavior, nor their lack of trust in my integrity.
Now there were other examples of failure in my home besides myself. My mischievous brother boldly went where ever he wanted-even into sin. He received so many painful consequences for his behaviors that I set a goal not to act like he did.
The decision did not cure my problem. I ended up being secretive and sneaky. All the while, I tried to learn from his mistakes and to school my “wanter”. Avoiding sin seemed to be my best option. By studying the prerequisites for sin, I became more disciplined. I could avoid the cookie jar by staying out of the kitchen. Reading kept me from arguing. Learning new things prevented envy. Gradually I accepted that my parents had some good ideas about avoiding sin. They might seem like they were guards cleaning up the prison grounds, but their advice did help me avoid error.
They didn’t want to be guards protecting and punishing willful children. They wanted to be companions and teacher. So, I began studying their advice and learning from the scriptures. The more service and exact obedience I experimented with, the safer I felt. It didn’t take long for me to share my wisdom of youth and try to protect others. My sharing became bossiness and relationships struggled. Instead of discussing strategies to prevent spiritual weeds, I felt in control others. This lead to pride and envy.
I rooted around in my mind to find what was wrong. I knew I was in error because I felt awful just like I was sinning. Through my pondering and seeking knowledge, I stumbled on some facts. internalized them and experimented to see if I had truth.
Ev
ery day was a spiritual challenge. “Prove me herewith…,” the Lord said. I learned through experiments that Father answers all prayers, comforts me when lonely or afraid, and guides me in my studies to choose the right.
Working with Father fills me with hope, grants me joy in labors, and prompts all the best emotions like peace, security, and affection. Christ favors me with faith and hope in His atonement. Charity for others lifts my burdens and repentance fills me with peace. I love the gifts of gratitude, curiosity, achievement, creativity, memory, relationships, and the list goes on.
How nice to know that there is order in the universe. There is a plan of salvation. That Heavenly Father really is my father, Jesus Christ is my brother, and the Holy Spirit is also a brother willing to help me during my turn on earth. Spiritual weed pulling is worth the effort. I want to be sinless, not for my own selfish desires, but because I love my Father. I wish to please him and help him with His work to bring about the immortality and eternal life of man. I may not be much help; but I can provide some assistance. I am so grateful for redemption, repentance, and the atonement.
Receive an article for FREE:
Complete the survey below to aid in our continual improvement program. You will receive an article for free. If you would also like a monthly news update and future free information check the box at the end of our short survey.
[formidable id=14]
Thank you for sharing. Your experience and thoughts are important to our self-improvement.
Our goal is to meet your needs whether you desire to morph into an art business, learn teaching skills for your family, or desire to purchase original art products, take arts and crafts classes and tours.