WHERE DID THOSE WEEDS COME FROM?
Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
My dear encountered couples:
Though all we plant in our yards are grass seeds, somehow, we end up with dandelions, crab grass, and a host of other weeds that choke out the grass. Where did those weeds come from? Were they secretly hiding in our bags of grass seeds? Were they lying dormant in the ground waiting for some water and warm sunshine? How about the weeds in our characters?
No matter how many good things we are taught by our parents and teachers, no matter how much excellent example we soak up from people around us, it seems we still have tendencies to do what we know is sinful. Where do these tendencies come from? I’m afraid they have been in us from our beginning.
As a result of original sin, we are born with seeds of evil in us. And we never know when those seeds will start wanting to make themselves seen and heard.
As weeds appear in our yards overnight, and uninvited, and then grow and spread all over the lawn, evil tendencies in us pop up when we least expect them and try to mar the beauty of our characters. We must expect them, we must notice them, we must be ready to do something about them.
The weeds in our yards we spray with killer or dig out. Or else they take over. The sinful tendencies in ourselves we pray to be rid of, we cultivate good habits in their place. A beautiful yard does not result from a one-time effort; it takes an entire spring, summer, and fall of constant, attentive care.
A good character takes a lifetime. Don’t give up. You are already looking like Christ. Let nothing spoil his likeness in you.
