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Weeding Is Hard Work
By Administrator | February 20, 2006
I love to garden. Now, while the weather is cold and the memory of succulent green plants and delicious fruits are nearly lost, I begin to dream of summer again. I remember the fun of anticipation, the joy of harvest. But, I always seem to suppress memories of the drudgery of midsummer weeding.
Now that my children are older I tend toward similar lapses of memory. This week my two younger daughters, now 14 and 18 seemed to find it quite difficult to be nice to each other. Ellen and I had to stop several conversations and require them to “try that again” while we listened and in some cases instructed them on what phrases to use or how to better voice a concern without sounding rude. While in the midst of refereeing, memories of doing this day in and day out came flooding back.
Parents who are day in and day out investing into the lives of their younger children feel fatigued by the huge amount of work and emotional effort it takes! When you are fatigued and you don’t feel like telling them “no” to that television show, or you have already corrected little Johnny’s screaming and swinging at his sister we are tempted to “let it go” this one time. But there is an added drain to this mid childhood effort – delayed gratification – no immediate fruit of your labor.
Similarly, the midsummer weeding does not seem to matter right away. The vegetables and fruits continue to grow so what is the difference? But as every gardener knows, the investment now will help produce the right conditions for a good harvest later. Killing the weeds helps bring down chances of infection or infestation and allows maximum sunlight to feed and strengthen the plant. Pruning, my personal nemesis, helps create unseen root growth and allows vital nourishment to flow to the areas that will produce fruit.
So your discipleship efforts, the little lessons that seem to be falling on deaf ears, will help guide your children to the Truth. Your effort in keeping them accountable, in walking them through the proper response helps teach and train them – even though you don’t see the fruit right now.
Mid summer weeding is always a chore. During the drudgery one secretly wonders if it is really worth it. Trust me on this one. I have seen the harvest of gardens with the summer weeding and those without. I have seen grown children trained with the discipleship efforts and those without. Your efforts ARE worth it!
May God’s graced and peace be with you,
Mark and Ellen Strohm
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