Pull the Weeds #devotional by Becky Van Vleet

 

Pull the Weeds

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Colossians 3:15

Not so long ago, my four-year-old granddaughter followed close behind me one afternoon as I was pulling weeds in our flower beds. Her small hands grasped the ugly nuisances right along with my own. After we had gathered a small pile of weeds to throw away, Selah asked, “Nana, why do you pull the weeds out?” Well, even though I’m retired, the “teacher” in me always comes out. This is a teachable moment I tell myself!

I described how rapidly weeds grow, and they can get so big they will choke out the pretty flowers. I also explained how flowers will look prettier without the weeds hanging around them.

“Selah, did you know our hearts are like flower beds and they get weeds too?”

She frowned and replied, “No, what do you mean, Nana?”

“Well, when our hearts are full of love and kindness and obedience, our hearts are like a pretty flower garden for God. But when we say bad words or we don’t tell the truth or we disobey, these are like weeds in our hearts. It’s just as important to pull the weeds out of our hearts as it is to pull the weeds out of Nana’s flower beds.”

At this, I smiled when Selah took her hand and felt her heart under her shirt as if she wanted to literally pluck heart weeds right then and there! Ahh, the innocence of a child.

As adults, do we need to be pulling any weeds from our own hearts? Bitterness, hate, selfishness, deception, gossip, entitlement, complacency? The spiritual weed list is quite lengthy. Even so, the more we cultivate our heart gardens by getting rid of sinful attributes, our spiritual flowers of love, forgiveness, grace, patience, and hospitality will grow even lovelier, and the peace of God will rule in our hearts.

 What spiritual weeds do you need to pluck from your own heart?

Becky Van Vleet

Becky Van Vleet is a retired teacher and principal and award-winning multi-genre author. She has been published in Guideposts, The Country Register, and Christian Devotions Ministry. Her children’s picture books are the recipients of the 2020 Excellence in Editing award as well as the Purple Dragonfly award in 2020 and 2021. She and her husband make their home close to Colorado Springs where she enjoys gardening, hiking, oil painting, power walking, and spending time with her family, especially reading books to her grandchildren.

Becky is the author of Unintended Hero, a true story about her father’s battles, experiences, and adventures in WWII aboard the USS Denver. She is passionate about sharing the values from the Greatest Generation and enjoys speaking to high school classes about patriotism.

A member of ACFW and Allauthor, Becky has devoted her website to creating and preserving family memories and sharing family stories for the next generations through her monthly blogs. 

You can find her at: https://beckyvanvleet.com. She would love to hear from you, especially if you have a family story to share!

 

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