In Michigan this year, it’s forgotten how to winter. So on yet another unseasonably warm day I spent some time cleaning up the yard. Flowers don’t have buds yet and the grass is still half yellow, but guess what is flourishing in all it’s glory? A WEED! Of course. Aren’t they a beautiful joy? Looking at this squirming growth in the middle of my flower bed, the Parable of the Weeds came to my mind. Not necessarily looking in depth at all the angles of the parable, as that can be done for some time, but just the reality of weeds, both spiritually and in reality.
I look at my yard, and the good things, the beautiful things—the flowers, the grass . . .the things we want to see, take time, love and constant dedication to flourish. If we ignore them, without major grace from God (in the means of consistent rain and sun) they dry up and die.
However, weeds? Give them next to nothing and they thrive and they steal the nutrients from the good things in the process. In fact often it is just as much work, if not more, to be rid of them, then it is to grow the beautiful things. Once we’ve planted our garden, it takes persistent hours weeding to keep them away.
Every. Single. Week.
Isn’t this the case in the spiritual life as well? Isn’t it so easy to find ourselves being lazy watching tv, scrolling our phone and ignoring our responsibilities? Or to judge others or be tempted to talk badly of another (and watch how that weed grows! Spreads like dandelions with a good breeze!) the list goes on and on. It really takes concentrated effort over time to rid ourselves of these habits. Its easier not to! But just like weed that make it through a whole winter when even the grass can’t, they steal the good from us. They creep into us and make our whole garden ick.
And the things that make us beautiful, the things people actually want to see, take a lot of constant work and dedication and a whole lot of grace from God. But when you look at a garden (both in my metaphor and in reality) that has had the time and dedication taken, isn’t it so breathtaking? Isn’t it like experiencing a little slice of heaven?
Doesn’t it make you want to know: what do I do to make that happen?
Carrie Walker lives in Michigan with her husband and seven children. From her ten years serving as a high school youth minister, adventures around the globe, and raising a family, many stories have been knit within her heart.
As an avid reader she pens what she loves to read: contemporary stories that bring hope to a hurting world. Weaving romance among storylines of characters in struggle, she aims to show God working in all situations. When she’s not playing board games with her husband, shuttling kids in the Walker bus, or wishing for snow, Carrie can be found at the keyboard bringing those stories to life.
A member of ACFW, ACFW-GL and FHLCW, Carrie’s writing has been recognized in many contests and her debut novel, Emma’s Hero, won the 2020 ACFW First Impressions Contest for Contemporary.
To learn more about Carrie and her writing or to connect with her, follow her on social media! She’d love to hear from you. You can also sign up for her newsletter on her website at carriewalkerwrites.com.
“God won’t give me more than I can handle? I’m pretty sure He just did.”
After a year of loss and bad choices distance Emma Reynolds from her lifelong beliefs, she finds herself pregnant and alone at a twenty-week ultrasound, hearing the words “incompatible with life.” When her son, Theo, survives birth, she fights to give him the best care possible. As each day passes, Emma’s love for Theo grows-along with her fear of losing him. She can’t understand why God allows her son to suffer.
Seventeen-year-old blogger, Mason Hughes, feels lonely and worthless after his father left their family years ago. When he ignores his mother’s push to “contribute to society,” she volunteers him to help Emma each week. Wishing he’d applied for any other job, Mason has no choice but to grocery shop and practice his rusty social skills with a mother and son he doesn’t know.
Paramedic Ben Sullivan has earned himself the title of “most eligible” bachelor among his friends as they continually set him up on blind dates. While he’d love to avoid the uncomfortable events, his heart can’t help but seek the one thing missing in his life-a marriage like his parents have. If only he could find the woman himself.
As Theo’s tiny life connects them to each other, their loneliness breaks under the love of community, and they will never be the same.
