WEEDS, ROOTS,
and DISCIPLESHIP
By Megan Clark
T
HE FOUR OF US STOOD THERE staring down
at the beaten up patch of earth we had called our
garden last summer.
The boys had fond memories of picking sweet pea
pods and vines bursting with fat cucumbers. Now they
stood numbly taking in the hard, cracked soil overrun
with the healthiest crop of weeds in existence.
I explained to my row of boys beside me that we
needed to rid this patch of these nasty weeds and make
the soil healthy again so we could plant our new garden.
One by one they attacked the stubborn green clusters—
tugging, ripping, and falling back hard when the weed
would partially give way.
Next, they tried coming at the unsightly plants with
shovels and rakes only to come away with handfuls of
leaves and barely denting the packed soil around the
root. And then just as they had begun, one by one they
started giving up, declaring it impossible.
Their tired, dirty hands hung low by their sides. Once
again we stood there staring at that patch of earth over-
grown by oppressive weeds, and they wondered aloud if
the garden would ever exist again. I told them all to sit
down and rest beside our garden for a few minutes.
As they watched, I began to dig away around a
particularly stubborn weed. I explained how Satan wants
our hearts to be like this. He takes the rich ground we
have in Jesus and sows his seeds that grow into thick,
ugly, stubborn weeds. The soil loses its value, becomes
hard, and the sinful weeds take deep root.
The only way to get rid of the weeds—the lies, bad
habits, selfishness, pride—is to pull out the whole thing,
by the root. I explained how just pulling off the top leaves
or the part you can see, would leave a hidden root that
would grow again and strangle our good seeds. I dug and
clawed until I could pull out the whole ugly root, and the
boys marveled at how deep it had been inside the soil.
We looked at the blisters on our hands and talked
about how removing weeds from our lives might even
be painful, but the healthy soil we leave behind in our
hearts will grow sweet and delicious fruit. One by one
the boys got to work again, now naming each weed they
attacked with something they wanted to work on in their
lives. The garden became a discipleship ground they
could visualize as their hearts. That day as healthy seeds
were sown in our backyard, godly seeds were sown in
little hearts. They learned that keeping our hearts fertile
for growing in God requires constant weeding of the
whole root. And now every day as we water our garden,
rid it of weeds, and watch our plants grow, my little men
talk about the healthy things God is growing in them
and weeding their hearts, so good things have room to
grow.
Megan Clark is a homeschooling mom to three boys and a
girl, who keep her pediatric nursing skills sharp. She is married
to Matthew Clark, an attorney with the American Center for
Law and Justice. Living in Washington D.C. has given their
family daily opportunities to explore and learn. Between hiking,
running, baking, making messes, photography, and blogging,
Megan and Matthew keep Christ the head of their household
as they grow alongside their kids in becoming more like Him.
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