Looking Past the Weeds (Something Worth Saving)

Growing Weeds

I haven’t always been the best gardener. Thanks to Covid-19, I didn’t have lots of time to set one up this year, I but I gave it my best effort. My husband and children helped with tilling the ground, planting the seeds, and setting up automatic watering.

Waiting for the seeds to sprout always feels like torture, and this year was no exception. We took a small trip in the interim, but when we returned, it appeared that the garden had just grown weeds. I remember telling my husband, “I feel like turning the water off right now for the season. There’s nothing worth saving.”

A few days later, I finally gathered the courage to look closer and see if anything had actually sprouted. I worried that a few chilly days might have killed the little growth that had already happened. To my surprise, about 2/3 of what we planted had survived! I couldn’t see the tiny sprouts until I looked closer. We worked hard to pull out as many weeds as we could, and even the kids appreciated the results.

The Lesson

At times I have felt worthless or unwanted. I feel that my flaws far outweigh my positive qualities, that I’m just an ugly patch of ground covered in weeds. Despite my efforts to keep them away, they keep coming back! I forget to “look closer” and see the good in myself and others.

Nobody is just a patch of weeds. Everyone deserves a closer look. It takes a lot of work, but those small, good things eventually grow into bigger, better things. Don’t give up, even if it’s hard to see past the weeds.

Random side note: I just learned the definition to the expression “in the weeds“. Go read it. I had no idea how applicable it would be to what I just wrote. 🙂