The Barnabas files
words of encouragement
Embracing Thirty
To say “embrace thirty” seems to be somewhat of an oxymoron. Most of us know someone, or several some ones, who was “twenty-nine and holding” for years. Thirty has the reputation of being the first “bad” birthday; The end of carefree life and the beginning of “real” responsibility. Where these myths originated I do not know, but I found to my surprise that many of the ideas that I believed to be true were just that, myth.
After “sweet sixteen”, the independence of eighteen, and the official pronouncement of adulthood at twenty-one, I was ready for nine years of uneventful aging. I prepared myself for an exciting career as a teacher, the beginning of a marriage, and the hope of family. I soon discovered that the older I became, the less sure of myself I felt. A new career is also exhausting, and the older people that I was sure would be thrilled to bask in my youth and exuberance were simply waiting until I admitted that I was really clueless and cried out for help. My marriage transformed from two college kids having fun playing house into an actual couple with a household to maintain. Retirement was now something we had to plan for and not something our parents would do someday. Any family plans were pushed aside for more “immediate” concerns. My twenty-fifth birthday crept in with no warning that it would be anything but another twenties birthday. Then it hit like a brick. After that, I couldn’t imagine what the dreaded 30 would be like.
Then thirty arrived, or rather, I arrived at thirty. I was actually relieved! I absolutely love being thirty! I feel more confident about my abilities at home and at work. I have lost weight and kept it off for a year and half. I have a wonderful new son and a good, stable marriage to a man that I look forward to growing old with someday. I am truly embracing thirty. Life is truly getting better and better for me. Maybe I’ll even write that book someday…maybe when I’m forty!
Weeds
Gardeners
know that weeds grow rampant during this season. They can be difficult to eliminate, regardless of the size of
your plot. Being a novice gardener
at best, I prefer the pull-and-toss method.
Although it requires more labor, it is also more forgiving should I make
a mistake. No matter what method
one uses, weeds must be dealt with so that the desired plants have room to grow.
I hate the thought of pulling weeds, I would much rather cultivate the
plants that I desire, but once I begin, I find weeding to be a very therapeutic
activity. Not to mention the wealth
of spiritual applications available. It
seems that with every weed I pull, my Christian walk is improved.
No
one has to plant weeds, for they just seem to appear. The wind and animals scatter the seeds so that they flourish.
People don’t buy “rose killer”, or complain about those pesky
tomato plants that keep popping up the yard.
It is the dandelions, ragweed, and crabgrass that keep us running to the
local nursery for the latest tool or chemical.
Virtues must be cared for and nurtured, but wickedness is rampant, and we
must be always ready to uproot it before the roots are too deep.
Weeds
are easier to pull when they are small, especially is the ground is moist.
When I have to deal with really large weeds, I will soak the ground
before even attempting to extract them. It
is much better to deal with our sin when it is small.
The twinge of jealousy, the first temptation to gossip, or the first
“white” lie are all much less scarring on the soul than the consequences
when those sins are allowed to grow and flourish.
But, when the problems do become so large that the pain of ridding
ourselves of them is painful, we should thoroughly saturate our soul in the
grace and mercy of God, and the support of our Christian brothers and sisters.
I
have learned that weeds grow just as well, if not better, than the plants I
want. Once a weed has been pulled,
there is an empty place that must be filled.
No one wants weeds, but unless we make an effort to rid our gardens of
them, they will grow in spite of our best intentions. Although we desire Godliness, fleshly desires will grow
in our hearts just as well, if not better.
Repentance must be accompanied by an earnest desire for growth, for when
we rid our lives of sin, something must fill the void.
Tulips
I transplanted tulips and daffodils the other day. With my “black” thumb, they very well might die, but I’ve had minor success before. You see, they had spread to places where we didn’t want flowers, in the middle of the lawn. They would get mowed down until they died away for the season, so they never were able to reach their full potential – to bloom. So, this spring, I transplanted them. I was concerned that if I waited until fall that I wouldn’t be able to find them. The tops have now wilted down, they won’t bloom this year, and possibly not the next. But they should bloom again some day. It may take awhile, being forcibly moved from their chosen location, but hopefully, they will acclimate to their new “home.” How often do I choose to spread out in areas of my life that I cannot “bloom”, but am too short sighted to realize it? God, in His mercy, has to forcibly transplant me to a place more protected, more suited for my purpose. Like the flowers, it will take me a while to adjust to the new surroundings, so I may not bloom for a long time. (Since God is a much better gardener, I know that I will bloom again!) After all, I never bloomed at all where I stubbornly choose to stay.