Life Among Weeds – devotion 138 – SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

I had been putting it off. I basically just avoided it at all costs. I’m super busy so it isn’t too difficult to justify not doing it. And it has been so hot that it was the push I needed to ignore it. Today, though, was the day. It was the day to work in the yard and pull the weeds. As much as I love being outdoors, pulling weeds may be my least favorite part of yard work. To give you an idea of how long I had waited, the weeds had taken over everything including the patio. It was bad enough that even Wendy noticed it was time to get it done. Wendy doesn’t go outside except for the trash. She wanted to know when I would take care of it. The was the final indication that it had gotten way out of control. So I got it done today.

I started with the weed-eater. That worked for a while. It knocked the major parts down. It couldn’t get it all. I almost let that be it. It already looked so much better, what would a few weeds matter? But, I could hear my mother’s voice in my ear. She taught me to do the difficult parts, it makes it worth it in the end. And she was working in her own yard next door (showing me up, nonetheless) so I kept going. But something interesting happened today. Something I can’t remember happening before when I have pulled the weeds. I found life. Life actually existed among the weeds.

There were worms and bugs crawling about as I had disturbed their cover. They had to find other places to rest. I found little flowers that would not have been detected when walking by. They were so very small that they would go unnoticed even if there were no weeds. Because I was on my knees pulling the weeds so close, I had the joy of finding these beauties. This all made me smile. It did my heart good to know that even in the middle of a mess, God had placed beauty and life. Even when it seemed as nothing existed except large ugly weeds, there was life hiding, waiting to be found.

Our lives can seem full of weeds, it can be difficult to imagine there is still any life left. When nothing seems to be going right, there is actually beauty down deep. There are joys that are hidden, waiting to be discovered. Sometimes we have to get involved and take the weeds out. We might just find so much more than we thought could ever exist. God has given you joys unspeakable – even among the weeds. May you find life and beauty today. It is waiting to be discovered.

Focus Scripture:

³All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.