If Dandelions Were Dollars

The backyard was a jungle. I stood “face to face” with an army of giant dandelions. I was determined to accomplish the Herculean task of reclaiming my lawn. I had neglected this chore for far too long. 

“It sure would be nice to have some help around here,” I grumbled to my audience of eye-level weeds. My single-mom self-pity kicked in. “I don’t know how in the world I’m supposed to keep up all by myself. Isn’t this one of those jobs the husband is supposed to do?”    

       

Fueled by frustration, I hacked at the super-sized weeds. “If dandelions were dollars, I’d be rich!” I continued to swing the hoe at the green-leafed invaders. As they began to fall, slowly but surely my thoughts moved from swirling anger and despair to a budding sense of accomplishment. I didn’t think anyone was listening to my rant, but there is Someone who knows my thoughts and who is always listening. He began to speak to my troubled soul as I struggled with each thick, prickly stalk.

I realized that these weeds on steroids didn’t get that way overnight. If I had noticed them when they first appeared, I could have easily pulled them up roots and all. Instead, I had let them grow unchecked. I had mowed over them several times, using the “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” strategy. Mowing removed the surface portion of the weeds, but the root system remained. Those roots had produced the giants I was now battling. What could have been taken care of easily early on was now a much more difficult, time-consuming task. 

Watching the massive stalks fall felt good. The enemies of a lush, healthy yard appeared to be gone. But chopping them down was not enough. If I didn’t dig up the roots, those darned dandelions would soon be back. Armed with a shovel, I attacked the underground fortress of these invaders. Soon many of the roots were destroyed. 

From my living room window, my yard was beginning to look less like a jungle. The lawn looked smooth and green. However, the up-close sight of the dandelion battleground told the story of the struggle. Digging up the roots left holes in the surface. Rough, thick stubs of stalks still in the ground were evidence that there was still digging to do. My work was far from finished. 

These giant dandelions definitely weren’t dollars, but maybe there was some other type of treasure hidden here. As I battled the weeds, I began to understand this struggle on another level. My thoughts turned to spiritual gardening. 

Like dandelions in a lawn, unhealthy thoughts and attitudes pop up in my life. Resentment and self-pity are two that I am very familiar with. If I recognize those thoughts early, while the roots are shallow, I can easily get rid of them. If, however, I leave them to grow unchecked, I will soon have giants to battle.

If I “mow over” these spiritual weeds, perhaps by carefully leaving them out of my words, but still harboring them in my heart, they will return stronger than ever.

It is only by doing the work of digging the roots and staying vigilant for the unhealthy thoughts that pop up from time to time that I can keep my spiritual garden from becoming an overgrown jungle.

I am thankful that I have a Helper when it comes to dealing with these spiritual weeds. When I spend time with Jesus the Master Gardener, it is easier to recognize thoughts and attitudes that I need to "weed out". 

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 NIV