In order to prepare you for this blog, I want to open up with a little rap/poem my fun teammate Rachael wrote for me:
I have weeds
And they have needs
Come pick my weeds
And plant my seeds
Don’t pick my seeds
Just my weeds
Because my weeds
Give me sneed-za
Weeds. Have you ever truly thought about the purpose of weeds? Because let’s be honest, the world is full of them. We have unwanted grass in our garden beds, kudzoo in our flowerbeds and crab grass over taking our bushes. What is truly incredible is their unique ability to almost completely “mock” plants. We all have weeds in our lives. It is normal; it is needed! Without weeds we wouldn’t have a need for Jesus, a community and/or self-reflection to help realign our character and mold us to resemble the character of Jesus.
Without weeds in our lives we would not get to the wheat, the harvest. It is the weeds that strengthen the wheat. It is the weeds that challenge the wheat to fight for their nourishment and sunlight to grow. However, just like it says in John 15,
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…”
We need to be attached to the vine of God to be nourished and fueled to grow. We need to have more of Jesus in our lives to bear the fruit of the Spirit.
I have many weeds in my life. Some are small, some are growing, some are dying and there is one in particular that has simply stayed constant in my life. My lack in confidence has been highlighted, magnified and brought to the forefront of my life since I have started the race. I have always seen it as something that I have needed to grow in and strengthen but I have never truly seen it as a weakness. But boy oh boy when you are living in true community some of your weaknesses don’t only affect you but they can also affect those around you. The enemy has a crazy way of speaking lies into your soul and allowing your voice to convince you of untrue things about yourself. But we have a choice to make when it comes to the weeds. We can both focus on them and allow them to flourish and take over the harvest or we can simply let them barely survive in the field up until the harvest. At the harvest, they can be uprooted and done away with through the help of community and Jesus.
I am glad that there is more than one harvest a year because I am able to get rid of old weeds as I discover new weeds. I am thankful that the weeds help me depend and grow more intimate with the Lord. Throughout the rest of the Race I pray for more confidence. A confidence that comes from the Lord, confidence in the fact that I am a child of the one true King and confidence that allows others to see Him more through my gifts. All for Jesus.
much love,
kel xxx
