Taking out the weeds in our lives
Today while I was at mass I was inspired by the gospel reading. The gospel reading focused on Jesus explaining to the disciples the parable of the sower. (cf. Matt 13: 36-43) He explains that the the good seed sown is God, while the field is the world, while the seeds themselves are the people who choose to believe in the Lord, and the weeds are the ones whom are working directly or indirectly with the evil one. While I was reading this passage at mass today this question began forming in my head, "So what are the weeds in my life?" Father Alfred Delp a German priest who was killed by the Nazi regime had this following reflection on how the "weeds" in one's life can be damaging as he states,
"When we lose touch with the eternal truths we get submerged in the weeds that sprout all over the garden of our life. They are senseless trivialities that assume an air of real importance. Though they pretend to have a purpose they are quite futile and merely add confusion to a life which is gradually engulfed in a sort of eternal twilight without light or direction."
I believe the "weeds" are anything that get in the way of one accomplishing God's will on earth. These "weeds" can take on many different forms they can be direct, obvious, or they can also be indirect and subtle. Regardless of the form that they take both of them if not pulled out can destroy the seed of faith in a person's life. So how are these weeds manifested in one's life?
I believe that most of the time these weeds are manifested through the trivial and seemingly normal distractions of life. The unfortunate reality is that we are living in era of rapid technological advancement, where the potential for distraction is that more greater. I personally don't have anything against technology, but I am definitely concerned about the temptation for distraction.
Another way in which these weeds can be manifested is through how we make use of our time. The way to
find out is to ask oneself, "How am I using my time on a daily basis?" If you are honest I guarantee you will find that your life is more full of weeds than what you expected as St. Josemaria Escriva explains in, Friends of God,
"Let us take a good honest look at our own lives. How is that sometimes we just can't find those few moments it would take to finish lovingly the work we have to do, which is the very means of our sanctification? Why do we neglect our family duties? Why that tendency to rush through our prayers, or through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? How are we so lacking in calm and serenity when it comes to fulfilling the duties of our state, and yet so unhurried as we indulge in our own whims? You might say these are trifling matters. You're right, they are, but these trifles are the oil, the fuel we need to keep our flame alive and our light shining." (p. 61-62)
So are we allowing our time to shine in our earth?
Steven Covey in his landmark work, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People describes this damaging tendency in the third chapter titled, Putting First Things First. In this chapter Covey divides the time into 4 distinct quadrants. The first quadrant is titled, Important /Urgent. This quadrant covers all important and deadline driven events. The second quadrant, Important/ Not Urgent deals with more meaningful activities such as spirituality, planning,physical exercise, church activities, recreation, learning, etc. The third quadrant, Not Important/Urgent deal with activities that might seem pressing, and the erroneous expectations of others, but are not important. Some examples of these types of events are interruptions, family gatherings, phone calls, e-mails, etc. In the last quadrant, Not Important/ Not Urgent deal primarily with time wasting activities such as, watching endless T.V., playing video games, gossiping, going to pointless parties etc. According to Covey the relevant quadrants are the first two, with the second one, Not Urgent/ Important being the most important because in this quadrant one deals with more important matters of life. But the danger with this quadrant is that since it is not urgent it can also be easy forgotten, taken for granted, placed on a permanent back burner.
I believe that the greatest source of weeds come from the last 2 quadrants, but more specifically the third one. Think about it how many times throughout the course of the day have you been sidetracked by a specific issue only to find out that it was not that important to begin with. In my life this has been most manifested through family events. Almost every month Renee and I are bombarded with invitations to attend various gatherings, but unfortunately even though we want to we can't attend them all because we simply don't have the time. So we are forced to decide which events are the most important. Often times we have found that when we make these difficult decisions we end up inevitably hurting someone's feelings. But the upside to this is that when we do go to an event we usually are very excited because we have decided to immerse ourselves more fully in the event since we have chosen it over other events.
Another area in which I believe weeds can affect us is through misplaced family expectations. Think about it if you are spending most of your free time going to family or friends gatherings where is the time to fulfill one's unique mission in this world? I have nothing against spending time with extended family, but not at the expense of achieving one's Christ given mission in this world. We are all given specific talents and abilities, and we are charged to spread the gospel to "by making disciples of all nations." (cf. Matt 28: 19-20) If we are busy spending our time going to all family events then when will we have time to spend in quiet, thoughtful, reflection? We need to discern carefully how we use our time, because if we don't we risk wasting this most precious resource.
Unfortunately we live in a culture that prides itself on being "busy" where most families lives are spent in dizzying frenzy of activities, if it isn't school, then it it is baseball, if it isn't baseball then it is soccer, if it isn't soccer than it is boy scouts etc. These activities although not bad in themselves can easily become like weeds choking off the most important of activities spending time with the Lord and with family
So my final question are we being good gardeners of the Lord's bounty? It is my challenge to you all, take out the weeds, the distractions of your lives, and surrender your lives and time to the Lord. Father Alfred Delp reflects on this necessary step that all Christians must take as he says,
"A surrender without reserve is essential; then "these things" are given back to us. Our eyes are opened and acquire a new perception. His earth regains its fruitfulness under the healing streams, which strengthen us for our appointed tasks and give us mastery as they carry the ship of our life on its way."
It is my prayer that we all take this step.
"When we lose touch with the eternal truths we get submerged in the weeds that sprout all over the garden of our life. They are senseless trivialities that assume an air of real importance. Though they pretend to have a purpose they are quite futile and merely add confusion to a life which is gradually engulfed in a sort of eternal twilight without light or direction."
I believe the "weeds" are anything that get in the way of one accomplishing God's will on earth. These "weeds" can take on many different forms they can be direct, obvious, or they can also be indirect and subtle. Regardless of the form that they take both of them if not pulled out can destroy the seed of faith in a person's life. So how are these weeds manifested in one's life?
I believe that most of the time these weeds are manifested through the trivial and seemingly normal distractions of life. The unfortunate reality is that we are living in era of rapid technological advancement, where the potential for distraction is that more greater. I personally don't have anything against technology, but I am definitely concerned about the temptation for distraction.
Another way in which these weeds can be manifested is through how we make use of our time. The way to
find out is to ask oneself, "How am I using my time on a daily basis?" If you are honest I guarantee you will find that your life is more full of weeds than what you expected as St. Josemaria Escriva explains in, Friends of God,
"Let us take a good honest look at our own lives. How is that sometimes we just can't find those few moments it would take to finish lovingly the work we have to do, which is the very means of our sanctification? Why do we neglect our family duties? Why that tendency to rush through our prayers, or through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? How are we so lacking in calm and serenity when it comes to fulfilling the duties of our state, and yet so unhurried as we indulge in our own whims? You might say these are trifling matters. You're right, they are, but these trifles are the oil, the fuel we need to keep our flame alive and our light shining." (p. 61-62)
So are we allowing our time to shine in our earth?
Steven Covey in his landmark work, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People describes this damaging tendency in the third chapter titled, Putting First Things First. In this chapter Covey divides the time into 4 distinct quadrants. The first quadrant is titled, Important /Urgent. This quadrant covers all important and deadline driven events. The second quadrant, Important/ Not Urgent deals with more meaningful activities such as spirituality, planning,physical exercise, church activities, recreation, learning, etc. The third quadrant, Not Important/Urgent deal with activities that might seem pressing, and the erroneous expectations of others, but are not important. Some examples of these types of events are interruptions, family gatherings, phone calls, e-mails, etc. In the last quadrant, Not Important/ Not Urgent deal primarily with time wasting activities such as, watching endless T.V., playing video games, gossiping, going to pointless parties etc. According to Covey the relevant quadrants are the first two, with the second one, Not Urgent/ Important being the most important because in this quadrant one deals with more important matters of life. But the danger with this quadrant is that since it is not urgent it can also be easy forgotten, taken for granted, placed on a permanent back burner.
I believe that the greatest source of weeds come from the last 2 quadrants, but more specifically the third one. Think about it how many times throughout the course of the day have you been sidetracked by a specific issue only to find out that it was not that important to begin with. In my life this has been most manifested through family events. Almost every month Renee and I are bombarded with invitations to attend various gatherings, but unfortunately even though we want to we can't attend them all because we simply don't have the time. So we are forced to decide which events are the most important. Often times we have found that when we make these difficult decisions we end up inevitably hurting someone's feelings. But the upside to this is that when we do go to an event we usually are very excited because we have decided to immerse ourselves more fully in the event since we have chosen it over other events.
Another area in which I believe weeds can affect us is through misplaced family expectations. Think about it if you are spending most of your free time going to family or friends gatherings where is the time to fulfill one's unique mission in this world? I have nothing against spending time with extended family, but not at the expense of achieving one's Christ given mission in this world. We are all given specific talents and abilities, and we are charged to spread the gospel to "by making disciples of all nations." (cf. Matt 28: 19-20) If we are busy spending our time going to all family events then when will we have time to spend in quiet, thoughtful, reflection? We need to discern carefully how we use our time, because if we don't we risk wasting this most precious resource.
Unfortunately we live in a culture that prides itself on being "busy" where most families lives are spent in dizzying frenzy of activities, if it isn't school, then it it is baseball, if it isn't baseball then it is soccer, if it isn't soccer than it is boy scouts etc. These activities although not bad in themselves can easily become like weeds choking off the most important of activities spending time with the Lord and with family
So my final question are we being good gardeners of the Lord's bounty? It is my challenge to you all, take out the weeds, the distractions of your lives, and surrender your lives and time to the Lord. Father Alfred Delp reflects on this necessary step that all Christians must take as he says,
"A surrender without reserve is essential; then "these things" are given back to us. Our eyes are opened and acquire a new perception. His earth regains its fruitfulness under the healing streams, which strengthen us for our appointed tasks and give us mastery as they carry the ship of our life on its way."
It is my prayer that we all take this step.
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