Weeding and Planting

The other day I passed by my flowerpots and discovered they were overgrown with weeds. I had ignored the invaders last week and the week before, but now they threatened to overtake everything else. I began pulling—very satisfying—and as I did so, it seemed as if I could hear my flowers saying, “Thank you for the light! Thank you for the room to grow and the opportunities for more water and nutrients!” Reviewing my work upon finishing, everything looked cleaner and so much better.

As I worked, I reflected that like my flowerpots, unhelpful patterns all too easily creep into my own life: irritability with my husband, selfishly thinking of my own wants before the needs of others, complaining about the chickens. It usually starts small: a biting comment, annoyance, or spending too much time shopping online. If I fail to uproot these unfavorable behaviors, they easily become a part of my life. Unchecked, they choke relationships, faith, light.

I wish it was as easy to pull sin out of my life as it is to clean out my flowerbeds. I I can relate to Apostle Neil L. Anderson’s comments about his resistance to critical—though true—comments from others. ‘You’re not seeing it from my point of view,’ he might say to himself, or ‘Who are you to judge?’ Or, worse, ‘Maybe you should work on yourself.’ But the appropriate response, he notes, is prayer. “As I sincerely pray, ‘Father, what do I need to change?’…. A calm feeling comes over me, and at the appropriate time… [God’s] eternal truth, penetrates my heart.”

Prayer is a key “weeder” in my life, too. Asking for and receiving instruction about what I need to change has been a precious guide. The messages can be hard to hear, or embarrassing to recognize. But if followed, they bring more goodness into my life.

In the quest for change, removing sin is only the first step. With my flowerpots, I may need to plant new seeds, or fertilize existing plants to create something of worth. In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Alma discusses planting seeds of faith, and noticing their development. “And behold, if ye nourish [them] with much care [they] will get root, and grow up and bring forth fruit.” Alma then comments that if the plant is neglected it will die, not because the seeds were bad, but because “your land is barren…. But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith [in Jesus Christ] with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto eternal life.” (Alma 32: 39-41)

My beloved mother, who passed away fourteen years ago, was a master at pruning and beautifying her spiritual garden. One way she did that was by raising a large family—I have seven sisters and two brothers.

Mom didn’t know how to raise children; she didn’t have siblings near her age, so babies were a mystery. But she knew how to pray and she felt tremendous love for each child as he or she joined our family. She read the scriptures and deepened her love for Jesus Christ. She attended church and eagerly served as a children’s leader, learning songs and fingerplays she brought into her home. My parents prayed together daily and tried to live the commandments.

Of course, she struggled: with morning sickness, with her own temper (some particularly trying days she took out her frustrations on our backyard tetherball) and with willful teenagers. But she lived by the mantra “look for the good,” while she quietly continued to weed out the bad.

She is remembered by all who knew her by the joyful love she showed to her family, friends, associates, and Father in Heaven. What she created continues to bloom and give life generations later, a “tree springing up unto eternal life.”

I noticed this afternoon that my flowerpots could still use some attention. My life, too, is weedy in some areas, and barren in others. There is still plenty to do. I am grateful for the precious opportunity my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ have given me to grow flowers and refine my character during this beautiful Alaskan summer.

Kristin Fry loves to sing to growing things and with precious grandchildren. She is a grateful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.