Had a lovely day today, though it was very busy. I worked at my cleaning job from 8am to noon. When I got home, I fixed a bite of lunch and waited while Rhiannon finished all she could do on her latest project--staining the patio. It looks so nice, but she ran out of stain. That meant we needed to make a trip to town for another gallon plus some rollers to finish the job.
She had also put the final coat of red paint on my mom's west kitchen wall this morning before starting on the deck. The girl was so diligent today! When I got home from my job, the laundry was on the line as well! Wow, what a blessing!
After she and I went to town for the supplies, we came home to finish more work. She took the next several hours to finish all she could possibly do on the deck while I potted the last of my flowers for the porch and around the chicken coop. I took all my leftover flowers and put them in old baskets that hang out at the end of the chicken coop roof. I purchased two old egg baskets at an auction a few years ago and they make great hanging "pot holders" for flowers out there. I also usually plant some morning glories and stretch strings to the overhanging roof so they can climb the back end of the coop. It gives the coop a nice country look.
I took a little time to weed the English garden late this afternoon. It never ceases to amaze me how weeds seem to mimick the flowers they grow near. I don't know if it's my imagination or not, but it seems to me that certain weeds like to stay by cerain flowers--the ones they most resemble!! Could it be that they flock together because they are of like characteristics? I mean broad-leaved flowers tend to attract broad-leaved weeds, and so on. Maybe the growing conditions that make a similar looking flower thrive do the same for the weed that looks like it. Today I pulled countless handsful of this one nasty weed that insists on thriving year after year in my garden. It seems to be most plentiful on the west side, although there are spots on the east beds where it thrives as well. I find much less of it on the south bed. It grows from underground runners and pops up nearly anywhere. If I fail to get it pulled in the early stages it grows to a tall red-seeded head. That's what I pulled today. The red-heads full of seeds look strangely like my coral bells that are about the same height right now and are ready to pop open at any moment. This weed was thick among the shasta daisies, still mostly unopened, but also currently about the same height. It was difficult to pull the weed without destroying the flowers in the process.
This weed thing reminds me of how the devil likes to operate in our lives. It seems his tricks are to mimick something good so we'll not notice that we're being induced to sin. The Bible calls him an "angel of light" because he is a master of disguise, appearing to be appealing with his temptations. Like the mimicking weeds, if he can hide among the corners of your life, mimicking something harmless or even good; he can gain a foothold and maintain his position until you discover him and take measures to weed the sin out.
Another valuable lesson from gardening: weed out the areas of your life frequently so that the good things of the Lord (like pretty flowers) can have a chance to grow. Jesus spoke of the conversions and lives of people and in doing so, he mentioned that some well-intentioned folks who hear the Gospel get choked out by the weeds of the world before they get to full harvest. Let's be diligent to remember the truths of a garden and apply them to our lives.
I've noticed we've been having such lovely skies this month. Beautiful clouds seem to alternate with the glorious sunshine making picture perfect, "painter-worthy" scenes. When I wrote "The Fields of May," these lovely days were what I had in mind for many of the scenes. Are you enjoying the many shades of green against the blue, gray, and white skies of this month? I hope so; I certainly am. As well as the many lovely flowers creating a riot of color right now, the greenery and skies are making a wonderful backdrop to be enjoyed! Blessings, LORI
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