Gardening is on my mind this time of year. I love seeing the signs of life in a tired wintered over garden when the sun starts shining. The peonies are poking up through the ground along with the numerous bulbs that were planted the previous fall. There is new growth on the clematis and hydrangea. Beautiful and exciting! Wait a minute though, what is that I see? Ugh, it’s the first sign of a weed. Not just any old weed, but the nemesis to my coastal garden…the dreaded False Lily of the Valley. At first sign of this nasty weed, I know one thing, it is time for WAR!!

Yes, that’s right, war. This isn’t some simple little weed all by itself. This is a nasty, aggressive weed with a massive root system. If I don’t declare all-out war on it, it will take over my garden and choke out everything in its path. What I have found to be somewhat effective is anytime I see a new leaf poking of the ground, I yank it out, so that it doesn’t have time to grow and multiply. However, it spreads fast and I can’t always keep up with it and then I have to take more drastic measures, like using Round-Up. I have to be so diligent and vigilant.

This reminds me of what the bible says about the root of bitterness. When speaking about pursuing peace with all people, the writer of Hebrews teaches us that a root of bitterness will cause us to fail of the grace of God, to be troubled and to be defiled. (Heb. 12:15). It is so important that we don’t hold onto the things that are done against us by others and cause there to be fertile soil for the root of bitterness to grow wild in our hearts. Just like the False Lily of the Valley in my yard, unchecked forgiveness and resentment will grow like wildfire into a root of bitterness that will choke all the love out of our lives.

The moment that we recognize those wrong attitudes in our heart, we need to yank them out and lay them at the feet of our Lord. It literally is a war against bitterness. With the help of our Lord Jesus, we can have a beautiful garden free of bitterness.