Elder

Ground elder, that is.

A pernicious weed which is gradually claiming my entire flower border. It sends strong white roots in all directions, which then pop up as a new plant before it, too, sends out new roots. It creeps up walls, getting a ‘foothold’ wherever there might be a dabble of dirt. 

You may have seen them growing wild, putting up flower stems at some point in the summer months. I’m on a mission to eradicate them from my flowers, but I think it may be Mission Impossible. The trouble is, the strong root penetrates more viscous roots and then pops a plant out, so that they are all so intertwined that in order to remove the weed, I risk killing the plant or flower as well.

Jesus told a parable about this situation. He said to leave the weeds until the harvest is coming in, lest the plants be killed as well. Of course he was speaking about people, not plants or weeds at all. 

People who live his Life, and people who live a lie. Those bearing fruit, and those which are barren.

I understand the dangers, and don’t want to decimate the many plants which are just beginning to grow after a dormant winter. Neither do I want a crop of ground elder.

That’s why my mission is impossible. I will never succeed in pulling out every single elder plant, because I’m loathe to kill some of my better established flowers. 

I’m so glad that Jesus’ mission was not impossible; that he is the perfect one to save each and every one of us. And that he doesn’t take chances of uprooting a fruitful life, just to dig out a very annoying weed.

He can wait.