Pope Francis says in the Joy of the Gospel "an evangelizing community is always concerned with the fruit, because the Lord wants her to be fruitful. It cares for the grain and does not grow impatient with weeds. The sower does not grumble or overreact at weeds. He finds a way to let the word take flesh in a particular situation and bear fruits of new life, however imperfect or incomplete these may appear."
When I read it, I realized that my weed obsession spreads further than the garden. I have often put so much emphasis on trying to protect my teenagers from the sinful world they live in, trying to shield my son from bad influences. We had so many conversations and I've spent countless hours in worry about the world that my children will grow up in and how difficult it might be for them to flourish amidst all the weeds. And I think so many of us work tirelessly trying to rid the world of weeds, getting frustrated that we aren't making even the smallest dent.
God reminds me today that I need to shift my focus off of the weeds so that I can see the fruit. Because it's the fruit that's important. That maybe if I spend less time worrying about the sin in the world I can't control and more time loving and teaching my children, they will bear fruit. I need to stop pulling weeds and remember to water the dry garden. And maybe most of all, remember that really the only things I have control over is putting the seed in the ground and watering it. God has to do the rest.
I love how Pope Francis says "He finds a way to let the word take flesh in a particular situation and bear fruits of new life, however imperfect or incomplete these may appear." We want ministry and parenthood to be perfect, just like I don't want weeds popping up in my straight, clean rows. But perfect is one thing it will never be. Life is messy, and messy is where God does His best work. I'm finding so much peace in the letting go of perfect and watching God work in the imperfections. I have a feeling He can do even better work among the weeds if we just let Him.
I have a stone walkway at my house, where weeds can grow in between the cracks in the rocks. I learned early not to weed it right away in the spring, because some of the flowers that I planted in my pots from the year before seeded out into the cracks in between the rocks. If I weed as soon as they pop up, I can't tell what is a flower and what is a weed, and I pull all of them together. But if I wait a while, I can see what they are becoming and save the flowers. I just look at the beauty of the flowers and smile because as hard as I work I could never ever plant anything as beautiful as what God does in this unusual place.
We want life to be black and white, as easy as things being weeds and flowers. But God uses all kinds of situations to spread His word as long as we will let go of the need for it to be perfect. So please join me in praying for us to let go of our constant worry and fretting about the weeds instead focusing on the fruit, and the good God is doing in the weeds.
