Dandelions

On their own, dandelions are actually quite beautiful. Their flowers are the perfect shade of yellow to complement the green of their leaves (and my lawn). They are prolific, able to spread their seeds vast distances on the wind using their signature “white puff” transportation system. They are rugged, able to survive droughts that kill off most plants. And they are everywhere. Since the province banned the use of chemical weapons in the fight against weeds, dandelions have made a comeback in recent years. Many people have accepted them as part of the landscape, and let them grow wherever they appear. Everyone, except my neighbours.

I live on a mini-cul-de-sac in our subdivision. There are 4 houses in this section and the only lawn that has any dandelions on it is mine. Last summer I joined with many others in a chemical free assault on my dandelions. I bought a fancy weed puller from the hardware store and spent many hours pulling dandelions. By the end of the summer, I thought things looked pretty good. Not as good as my neighbours, but better than it was.

This year, I have even more than last year. So I did some research. The best way to keep dandelions at bay is to have a full, healthy lawn. A thick lawn prevents the seeds from making contact with the soil, which stops them from rooting. So regular watering, fertilizing, top dressing, de-thatching, aerating, and over-seeding are all necessary steps to keep your lawn healthy, which will keep out the dandelions. And when you do spot one, it must be removed roots and all, before it can seed. The hole you create needs to be filled in with top soil and grass seed – this is where I messed up last summer. All those holes in my lawn became fertile fields waiting for new dandelion seeds, and I think there are now 4 growing in every hole I made last summer.

I now have so many dandelions that I’m almost ready to give up. There’s no way I can get them all so I have a new strategy. I’m going to pick a small, manageable section of my lawn, make it weed free, then fill in all the holes I make with topsoil and grass seed. I’ll water it, and when the new grass is growing, I’ll add some fertilizer and move on to another small section. Hopefully by the end of summer, I’ll get most of the yard cleaned up.

I think we need to use a similar approach to sin in our lives. The best way to keep temptations from taking root in us and turning us away from God is to have a full and healthy spiritual life. This means regular feeding and watering by reading the Bible and spending time in prayer, fertilizing it by participating in learning opportunities such as small groups and worship services, de-thatching it and aerating it by getting out and doing works of service, and every once in a while add some new seeds by trying something different like attending a Christian concert or going on a missions trip. And just like a healthy lawn, we will never be completely “weed free”. We need to be on the lookout for those parts of our lives that are susceptible to sin, carefully removing that sin and filling in that gap with a healthy alternative.

Suppose you look at your life and you see it is as full of sin as my lawn has dandelions. It may look intimidating, impossible to fix. And in reality, on our own it is impossible to fix. We need God to guide us through this process. It’s only by His strength that we can truly make changes in our lives. While many new Christians have a strong desire to completely turn their lives around, it’s a pretty difficult thing to do. It can often mean abrupt changes to our lifestyle, breaking long-term relationships, stopping destructive behaviour. Those big changes will leave huge gaps in our lives, and if we don’t fill them in quickly with healthy options, those holes will attract those nasty weeds again.

So maybe focus on those really big weeds that affect your life the most – the ones that really prevent you from having a solid relationship with God. Start with those first, get them under control, then start working on the others. God will guide you through this if you ask Him. And don’t be surprised or disappointed to see these weeds pop up again in the future. It happens to all of us. Just get back out there, pull that weed out and ask God to help you keep it out of your life.

God doesn’t require us to have a sin-free life in order to get to heaven. Jesus paid that price for us and God welcomes us as we are. But He does expect us to be diligent gardeners, doing our best to keep our lives as free of sin as we can. So make sure you spend some time today and everyday on your own garden. Make it strong and healthy, and keep after those weeds.

Jac