Fertile Ground, part 3

The Weapons
Many products have been developed in recent years and added to the arsenal of weed prevention and elimination. There are methods that are chemical, mechanical and manual. Some of them even work…for awhile.
Chemical warfare has a great deal of appeal. Just spray the little buggers and sit back on your porch swing and imagine them twitching and spasming as they gasp their final breath. It is very satisfying to just “nuke ‘em”. It can also be expensive and the practice is beginning to create “super weeds” that are more and more resistant to the herbicides. There is also much debate and protest about the effects that the chemicals have on humans. (Note that I am not taking sides here. I see both the need and the harm in chemicals. Realistically though, I have three acres that I am trying to control. Poast, Roundup, and Weed-Be-Gone are three of my best friends!)
Another relative in the chemical family of weapons is the pre-emergent variety. Put it down and the weeds can’t even begin to grow. But neither can any other kind of seed. And there is a residual effect in the soil in subsequent years. All in all, the chemicals are quick and effective, but costly in more ways than one.
Mechanical methods are a little different. Tillers, mowers, cultivators and the like require more effort on our part and the return is not always very good. You have to know your enemy. Rototilling a patch of dandelions or thistle is actually about the best thing that you can do…to help them. Some weeds can duplicate themselves from very small pieces of the original plant. Cutting them up only multiplies them. Knowing whether a weed is perennial or annual and how it will respond to mechanical cultivation goes a long way in making your efforts effective.
Even though it is the hardest, manual weed removal is my favorite. I named my hoe “Manuel Trabajo”. (A Spanish/English pun-a hoe named manual labor-get it?) I also do a lot on my hands and knees. When you pull a weed out by the root, you know that one, at least, isn’t coming back. There is also something about being alone with your thoughts and your Creator that makes weeding by hand doubly worth while. You’re already on your knees. You might as well make the most of the time. Take the opportunity of the quietness of your heart (no head phones allowed!) to hear the things that your Heavenly Father would say to you. See the application of Scripture in the work before you. There is a greater understanding of what it means to be “rooted and grounded” as you care for the plants in front of you. A stubborn weed brings new meaning to the “root of bitterness” that the Bible talks about. You can become intimately acquainted with everything in the patch of soil you are working with, from the worms (which you are happy about) and slugs (which you are not), to the Bells-of-Ireland that traveled across the yard. You can get to know your Savior a little better at the same time.
There is a parallel to our Christian lives here as well (surprise!). Just as the weeds themselves are a picture of what sin can be like, so the methods of removing them can also be like our ways of dealing with sin. There is no “quick fix” for sin. You can’t just spray it and walk away. You also can’t just get rid of some of it. The whole thing has to go or the bits and pieces left behind can make a bigger mess. There is much prayer and diligence ahead when you want to eliminate the things in your life that God hates. And when you finally conquer something that has taken control of part of you, there is great satisfaction.