Weeds in My Thoughts

Thoughts can be a beautiful thing. Thoughts can make our day better and help us get through certain seasons of our lives. But thoughts can also be like weeds, taking over our minds and squeezing the life out of any good thoughts and dreams we may have.

I was weeding my garden at my sisters (her and her husband so graciously let me use their space to have a garden since I have no space currently at my house), and I couldn’t help but notice that weeds in a garden are very similar to the negative thoughts in our minds.

You plant a garden, in hopes of seeing fruit of your labor. The beautiful, colorful bounty you hope to enjoy in a few months or weeks helps fuel your excitement during planting time. You worry about a late frost damaging the freshly planted seeds, because when seeds are just getting started they need tender, loving care. They need proper water, warmth and sun.

In much the same way those new thoughts and dreams we plant in our minds need care. We try to protect them from the frosty, bitter comments of others, especially in those few short days of having them planted. Sometimes we keep dreams from others for fear of what they may say. Just as we keep seeds in the package a few days later in fear of a late frost.

When we finally take the leap and plant the seeds, making it through the last frost, we patiently try to wait for the harvest. But those weeds quickly sprout, even before the first fresh produce does. If left untouched, those weeds infest and at times strangle the life out of the newly forming life.

In life our thought process is much like a garden. We have dreams and positive thoughts planted in our minds. Goals and ambitions, little seeds we hope will be harvested at some point in our lives. We take care to water them and protect them from outside voices and naysayers, but we eventually let “weeds” infest the garden of our thoughts. Those weeds are our own negative perceptions and thoughts. At times much more harsh then the harsh conditions in the outside world.

In our garden we have one such weed that has taken over the entire garden. I have religiously weeded it and cleaned all the rows, just for the weed to return a few days later bigger and more rampant. Almost taunting me and making me feel like it’s hopeless. I spend hours in the heat, back aching pulling the weed that spreads like wildfire, and feel my efforts are futile. I felt defeated. My sister said “What’s the point?! It’s only going to come back.”

I realized in the battlefield of my mind I had given up, much like my sister wanted to do in our garden. I had let a weed spread like wildfire. I had already tried to weed out the negative thoughts once, and just as I thought I out smarted them they came back stronger and more deadly. They strangled the life out of my hopes and dreams.

I will be honest I have given up. Felt defeated. Tired of constantly having to weed my mind of the constant doubts, fears and negative thoughts. I have given up on dreams, because it seems to hard and hopeless to keep trying. To many “weeds” too pull and too many hills to climb. The excitement had been killed before it even had time to begin, just as many of my seeds never made it.

So I replanted those seeds. I relentlessly pulled and pulled the tiresome weed. Determined to not let it win. Couldn’t I do that with my own mind? Couldn’t I set a fire to those dreams and goals? Once the seeds germinate and begin to get ready for harvest they are strong and able to contend with the weeds.

If we take the time and energy to treat our minds like a garden and faithfully pull those weeds as soon as they take root, making sure to pull the whole root, we begin to see more dreams fulfilled. More joy in our thoughts and life. It’s a task for sure, and a never ending one. It’s hard, and if we aren’t consistent with watching our thoughts and weeding through the negative and positive, we begin to lose. We lose sight of the joy and goodness, the dreams.

I have learned we have to take a shovel to our thoughts. Take the shovel and dig out the weeds, making sure to get the root, then turn over the dirt to bring new life. If we’re not out there every day weeding, the weeds will grow fast and take over. One bad thought can create a wildfire of weeds in the mind. It’s a constant battle and we are our own worst enemies.

Our mind can give us freedom or imprison us. It wear us down, mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Maybe this is why we are instructed to:

“…Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” – Philippians 4:8

Our mind can also be a source of strength. We can win if beaten physically, by believing first in our mind.

Find the root of your negative thoughts. Is it bitterness, fear, resentment, envy and jealousy, pain? And remove it from your mind. It takes time and a constant return to dig it up again, but eventually we see the fruit (or veggies) of our labor.

I have lots of shoveling and pulling to do. Some days I am too weak to even try, but others I contend like a mama bear. I try to dwell on the positive and see the joy in the midst of the storm or trouble. A constant battle, but well worth the fight, because in the end we see an amazing harvest.

Until Next Time Be Whole and Be Fit

Do you struggle with negative thoughts? What “weed” is in your mind that needs to be pulled?