I’ve heard the parable of the Sower, found in Matthew 13, about 1,000 times in my life. This weekend Pastor Mark gave an interpretation that was excitingly fresh for me. He said that discipling a person is helping to pull out the weeds in their lives so that they can fully live out their relationship with Christ. Weeds come in a variety of forms, burdens that cause anxiety and distraction, deeply rooted issues that haven’t been dealt with, addictions, bad habits, etc.
Hearing this very different definition of discipleship really got me thinking about who my weed pullers were. Who were the people that helped me face challenges and overcome obstacles I couldn’t have faced on my own? I’ve been blessed to have many amazing mentors and could write a book with all the lessons I’ve gleaned from them.
One instance of this type of weed pulling in my life really stands out to me. I was sitting in a taco shop talking to Catherine, who had agreed to disciple me during my senior year of college. She said, “Morgan we are going to have to work through some hard stuff, (she was referring to my struggle with an eating disorder). I would be hurting you if I avoided it.” I’ve never forgotten the love and compassion that were in her eyes as she delivered those hard to palate words. I felt a huge sense of relief knowing that there was some one in my life who was willing to walk with me in the process of uprooting this giant weed.
The eating disorder that I’ve struggled with has been my weakest point. I’m not bulimic anymore, praise God, but eating is still the first thing in my life that gets messed up when I’m facing a difficult situation. It’s like my check engine light and actually helps me to know that I need to slow down and deal with whatever problem I’m avoiding.
I was so grateful for Catherine in this area. Her help didn’t take out the whole weed, healing for me has been a process, but it took out large nasty chunk of the roots, which allowed my roots in Christ to sink deeper.
