The RenewaNation Review 2020 The Collingsworth Family Special Edition | Page 22

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 need-
ed 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 partic-
ularly 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.
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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. They named 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 from 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 op-
portunities to explore and learn. Between hiking, running, baking, making messes,
photography, and blogging, Megan and Matthew keep Christ the head of their house-
hold as they grow alongside their kids in becoming more like Him.