Sometimes your actions and efforts to fix a problem just make that problem worse.

The other day I picked some weeds out of the driveway at our cottage. They shouldn’t be there. We had fixed our weed problem last year (read here).

We have a gravel driveway with packed down white stones. I’m not sure how many inches thick it is, but it’s quite a few.

Over the last few years we noticed how the weeds have been coming up in the driveway in a more pronounced way. Our plan was to put some high-powered weed killer on the driveway, let it soak in and do its thing with the weeds. 

But we got a tip from a neighbour that a better solution would be to rake the driveway. 

It was certainly a more environmentally friendly approach to the weed extermination, and a far less costly one for us as well. 

What it did mean was a lot more sweat and effort on our part to get it done, but it seemed like a great solution. We tried it. 

We got out some rakes and started at the driveway systematically, digging deep down into the gravel and stirring those stones from the bottom up.  

It was like taking a comb to your scalp and going back and forth on it. … I’m not sure that’s good for your scalp and I’m sure now that it’s not so good for the driveway either. 

Mind you it looked great when we were done, like we had just put fresh gravel on our parking area. The stones were all fluffed up … if stones can be fluffy. I guess what I’m saying is they weren’t all hard packed and mashed together. 

We were pumped.

But probably within a week we noticed some weeds peeking through the gravel. 

How could this possibly be? We had gotten rid of all the weeds. They would have had to start from scratch to make their way through about three or four inches of gravel. 

Yet there they were. 

And now this year there seems to be even more and they are hardier than the variety that used to come up before we raked.

… This is an aside, but hear me out. I wonder if your hair was thinning and you wanted to stimulate growth in some way, maybe you could take a comb and really go at your scalp. Possibly you might be able to stimulate those hair follicles to start producing again. I’m not saying rush out and get yourself a new comb – it’s just a thought.

Anyway, back to our driveway this year. If we don’t get on this weed problem, instead of our driveway having a nice white stone look, it will have a hairy green look to it. 

This year we may have to apply the high-powered weed killer to the area and see if that action has better results.

Here’s the thing: If you take no action spiritually, you can bet the weeds of your own sin nature and societal influence will take over. Taking action spiritually is important; developing your faith is essential. It’s also important to take spiritual action that will make a long lasting impact on your life. Choose well what will stimulate spiritual growth in your life. Don’t let the weeds creep in.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you allowed to creep in to your life? Leave your comments and questions below.

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