Here in Swaziland one of the tasks I got to partake in was pulling weeds in a garden.
Some of the weeds were easy to pull up because the roots weren't very deep, but some of them were a lot harder. It was easy to pull the top off, but the root was so deep that it took a shovel to get it all. Also, some of the roots of the weeds were entangled in the plants that it was dangerous to pull the weeds up because it would ruin the plants, too.
I started to think about past issues that have arisen recently that I thought I was over and free from and how in reality those issues had taken root in me and I may have cut off parts of those weeds, but I didn't fully pull all of it. I knew it was time to be fully open and to let light shine into the dark recesses of myself so that those weeds can really be dissolved.
It's interesting to think about how much the past molds you into who you are, BUT it is important to remember that the past no longer defines you. We are freed of our past mistakes because Jesus' blood covers all sins and sure it is good to learn from those past faults, but we shouldn't let the guilt/shame rule our lives. It is good to move forward and with God's help not to fall back into temptation. Of course temptatation and issues will arise, but it really is taking the cross up daily and repenting every time sin occurs. When we repent of our sins then the devil can not use our mistakes against us and the roots of those weeds will not be able to stay.
"For freedom Christ has set us free, stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." – Galatians 5:1
