When I left home for college three years ago, I had to take on some new responsibilities. Laundry duty was now all on me, but at least weekly housekeeping was provided in the dorms. Living in a townhouse required more housekeeping chores and routine maintenance responsibility, like changing the AC filter regularly. But then last year, I moved into a house and quickly learned that home ownership means newfound responsibilities and lessons to be learned... such as a wind storm blowing the gate off its hinges, toilets deciding not to flush, getting the garbage and recycling cans out to the street on the correct days and taking care of the yard.

Any one who knows me knows that yard work is not my forte. But... it is a small yard with some gardens so I figured, how bad could it be. My Mom and Dad would usually make the hour ride over and knock it out in no time, but they continued to remind me that I had to be a responsible neighbor, be considerate and maintain my yard. Eventually that day I was dreading arrived: I was on my own with the yard. I could either pay someone or do it myself, and since paying someone would come out of my Chick-fil-A fund for that given week, it was obvious which option I would have to chose.

I tried to put this responsibility off as long as possible, hoping maybe the grass would just stop growing. However, it was obvious the time had come for me to lace up my old tennis shoes and deal with it. At first, it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. I psyched myself up into believing that this was a fantastic workout. After all, I had worked up quite a sweat. I hunched over and pushed that mower with everything I had in me. I was worn out. It wasn't until a few more cuts that I realized that the mower was self-propelled and I was killing myself because I hadn't engaged the system. I couldn't help but laugh at how hard I had made the experience for myself.

Another part of a well manicured yard is keeping the gardens looking nice and clean. This involves planting flowers, watering them daily in the hot summer and picking out the weeds. It's not like picking weeds is strenuous work, but I am always amazed at how quickly the weeds grow back. I can easily spend about thirty minutes on a Sunday afternoon and have the gardens free of weeds, but by the end of the week new ones have sprouted up. Constantly distracted with activities and obligations, I developed a habit of just waiting until the weeds dominated the garden and then I would do a massive clean-up. This method allowed me to immediately see the improvement, but by letting the weeds take over it not only distracted from the beauty of the garden but it required more time and work in the long run.

As I knelt in the yard, tending to my little corner of the world, I thought how similar this is to our own everyday lives. How often do we make things much harder on ourselves when we don't have to? How often do we resist help from others instead of welcoming the assistance? How often do we try to do all the work on our own, even if it tests our strength, instead of letting God be our "push?"

How often do we let the weeds take over our "garden?" Weeds come in all shapes and sizes: a toxic friendship, an abusive relationship, an unfulfilling job, or even a grudge against someone. How long do we provide the soil for the weeds to keep growing, even thriving, until we are overcome and have to do a massive clean-up? Think about how much easier and enjoyable life would be if we picked those weeds when they first appeared.

So as you manicure your garden of life, remember this: Weeds will always grow back faster and bigger if you only cut them down and don't pull them up by the root. As hard as it may be, get rid of the root completely. And no matter how hard we work, weeds will appear from time to time. So... always be on the lookout for new weeds and "nip them in the bud" before they even have a chance to distract from the beauty of your flowers.