Time to Weed Eat Your Life's Garden

A few months ago I was in a major “funk” in my life so to speak, one of the many I have faced through the years, especially the last few. I was struggling with losing the pastor at my church that I so loved more than I ever expected. I did not like his replacement, not to mention going to church these days is a real chore with a toddler who will NOT stay in the nursery. So I had made a decision to not attend church for a while. One Sunday morning as I was at home, having a bad day to say the least, I sat in disgust making a list in my mind of every way that my life just stunk! My husband and I had been in a horrible fight, my step-son was yet again pushing the teen boundaries with me, my daughter was having a “terrible two” kind of day, my family all lived far away, my husband and I weren’t making enough money and that was extremely stressful, I was fat, I wasn’t pretty enough, my skin was starting to look old, I was lonely and dissatisfied with my current relationships, I wasn’t really doing anything that was personally fulfilling for ‘just me” and oh yeah…. I was just in a REALLY BAD MOOD!

I turned on the TV to try and watch some mindless show to shut my brain off and there was Joel Osteen . He’s that minister guy who has a Sunday worship service on TV, lots of successful books and one of the biggest smiles you’ll ever see. And I must admit, when you aren’t in a good mood, his beaming smile that never goes away and his never ending “look at it on the bright side” attitude can be annoying. Anyway, as I went to change the channel because I was so not in the mood to be uplifted that morning, it was as though I was physically unable to do so. He was giving a sermon called "Bloom Where You're Planted". He started talking about birds and I was thinking, “okay, seriously….can my morning get anymore LAME?!” He talked about how we have a choice to be whatever kind of “bird” we want. We can be the “crow” that flies around or sits on a stoop and chatters on and on about nothing special, with that horrible sound telling the world about what we’re ticked off about. We can be a “chicken” that pecks around on the ground never really ever accomplishing anything or even flying anywhere. We can be the “turkey” that does get the job done as they come out of their tree each day, serve the purpose of eating, looking at its surroundings, but still ends up on the dinner table. Or we can be the “eagle,” not only getting its job done in life, but flying above all the earth as we look down in amazement of God’s creations; celebrating the beauties of life and sharing its beauty with others. It was at that moment that I realized I had been being the stupid “crow” for way too long! Sometimes I knew I was the “turkey,” because I did work hard and take care of my family, but usually my focus was on being a whiner of a “crow.” I so wanted to be the “eagle,” and I found myself asking “why aren’t you living the life of an ‘eagle?’”

Then Mr. Osteen went onto discuss the process of blooming which has become my life’s new theme. He said that the world we live in and our lives are surrounded by weeds. We have a choice to allow the weeds to overcome us or to be the beautiful, amazing flower that God made us to be and to BLOOM no matter how many weeds were around us. He talked about the fact that we have a choice to let gossip, bad attitudes, horrible jobs, stressful relationships, etc. get the best of us or we can CHOOSE to grow stronger, brighter and happier amongst them, leading by example and lighting up the world as we should. I realized at that moment that I didn’t want to be the weed.

My favorite flower in the whole world is a sunflower. So, as I planted my sunflower garden this year as I do every year, I made a promise to work every day to BLOOM. It is NOT EASY to continue to bloom within a world of weeds but its amazing what happens when we make that choice. Funny thing is…..not only do I feel better when I make a choice each morning to live as a sunflower…..I’ve also had the best sunflower garden I’ve ever had this year. Coincidence? I think not.

So what kind of bird are you? Are you blooming or are you creating more weeds around you each day? These are questions that I think are extremely important to ask ourselves on a regular basis. When you think about these answers don’t sugar coat it or think you are the exception to the rule and don't need to work on yourself because we all do. Be honest with yourself, because until you are honest you won’t be able to work to be the best YOU that YOU can be. Don’t make excuses for yourself like I have often done or life won’t ever get better and be more fulfilling.

It’s not easy. Life is simply not fair sometimes and extremely difficult. But I promise you, its way more difficult if you live it as the nagging crow or the annoying weed. No one can weed eat your life’s garden for you. You must make your own decision to grow and to bloom to be the spectacular flower you were created to be by God. The choice is yours.

Shine on!