Weeding the Garden of Our Hearts

We have plants we love in our garden, that we and others have planted lovingly with pride and care in the expectation of a sweet harvest. There may also be plants we do not want in our garden, sharing our soil and the nurturing aspects of the space. When we recognize a weed such as the Mile-A-Minute vine or the Asiatic bittersweet which may climb trees, strangle the trunk, block sunlight, and eventually kill the tree, we take measures to eradicate that from our garden or yard.

In the same way, when we notice in our heart's garden an invasive plant, for example, fear, which, once it has been planted from a moment of trauma or threat, we can take steps to eliminate it.

In some ways, fear is good. It helps you escape a wild animal, or a burning building. But if you have fear on a daily basis from memories or traumatic events, these are the instances where we need to garden our hearts and find out what kind of care we need to eliminate that weed from our lives, so that we are not entangled, our hearts are not strangled, and the sunlight is not blocked.

To weed the garden of our hearts, we can focus on what is good, seeds of gratefulness, pods of promise, roses of victory, apples of abundance, showers of blessings, and every good friendship. First, we do what we can to fix the issues. When we notice seeds of discontent, plans of revenge, series of complaints, or nodes of division and strife, these are the weeds we want to eliminate.

Secondly, we confess to God and others our need for help, reconciliation or forgiveness. We can bring these weeds to the light, talking about them with God and others. Then we can pull out these weeds at the root, (forgive ourselves) and go forward in confidence. 

By making a plan of focusing on what is good and bringing forgiveness and comfort to what is not, we can brighten up our garden. Now we are ready to share the bright and fragrant garden of our hearts! Joy to the world!