The Weeds of Life
“. . . but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and they went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.”
— Matthew [13:25]–26
THE WEEDS OF LIFE
My wife and I were sitting with the woman who had to schedule a routine surgical procedure, and on the woman’s head was a headset and microphone. I asked, “Why do you have your headset on?” Her reply: “I wear it all day because I have to talk with the insurance companies all day. You might get interrupted here and there when I get a live person on the phone, so bear with me.” This woman had to call insurance companies all day regarding billing questions and many times was put on hold for a many minutes. As she waited on hold she served her customers, but every fifteen minutes or so someone would come on the phone and ask her a question. She would provide the answer and get put back on hold. And so her day went, everyday.
Too much of our life is spent on hold and waiting for many minutes to only can get the ten-second answer we need. If it isn’t the insurance company, it’s the cable company or the Department of Motor Vehicles. It has become part of the American experience. It is the weeds of life. Organizations impose these rules and procedures that must be followed, and we must wait on the phone or in line. In today’s story we see an ingenious woman who had solved the problem. Wear a headset, apologize to her patients for the minor interruptions, and still get her job done. Remarkable!
“The parable explains that weeds are always there, planted by some unknown entity that seeks to disrupt our daily routine.”
In today’s verse, Jesus talks about the weeds of life. The parable explains that weeds are always there, planted by some unknown entity that seeks to disrupt our daily routine. When asked what we should do with the weeds, Jesus replies, in Matthew [13:30], “Let them both grow together until the harvest.” In short Jesus tells us to work around them. Find an alternative solution and continue with our work.
“The weeds of life are always with us, but our faith helps us rise above them and helps us deal with all of life.”
Each of us will confront the weeds of life on a daily basis. Jesus tells us the weeds aren’t as important as what we do about them. Do we allow the weeds to choke our progress? Do we let the daily slights lower our view of other people? Can we find another way around the weeds, like the medical scheduler? The weeds of life are always with us, but our faith helps rise above them and helps us deal with all of life.
Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman
PARTING THOUGHTS
What are the weeds of our life?
How do we deal with them?
What examples of ingenuity do we see in dealing with weeds?
