Confession of the Pastor’s Wife: Dandelion Weeds

He removes any of my branches that don’t produce fruit, and he trims any branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit.” John 15:2 (CEB)

On a sunny, muggy, Monday morning, I looked out over our front gardens. The flowers were blooming nicely…vibrant purple, orange, white, and green. However, the weeds were growing nicely, too. They tend to do that, especially around our yard, as neither my husband nor I possess much gardening ability. Every so often, we go out and work for a few hours digging up weeds so that the plants have more room to grow and shine. But, inevitably, the weeds return.

As I looked at the weeds eclipsing the flowers, I decided it was time to pull. Most weeds come out with a firm twist and tug around the base of the stalk. But dandelion weeds…they grow deep. Dandelions are the perennial flower of spring and summer. They’re pretty and colorful, but they’re also invasive and pernicious. They grow over, under, and through other plants that were intentionally placed within a garden bed until they’ve overtaken the entire garden. In a sense, dandelions are the schoolyard bullies of flower beds.

Dandelion weeds are impossible to pull by hand. Their roots are too deep and too strong. Usually, I have to dig them out, either by hand or with a small trowel. (Okay, I don’t have a small trowel because I’m not really a gardener. I just get the big shovel from the garage to dig them out.) They’re very resistant to removal, and they always find a way to come back.

As I was hacking away at dandelion weeds, it occurred to me that we all carry dandelions within our being. You know, those anxieties, hurts, insecurities, or even negative patterns of behavior that persist even after we’ve pruned our hearts and grown as human beings. Our personal dandelion weeds are rooted so deeply within us that sometimes, we don’t even remember how they got there. And, removing them requires so much time, strength, and energy we sometimes feel it’s easier to just let them be. However, letting our dandelion weeds continue to grow and fester can suffocate the good fruit God is trying to grow in us.

For instance, one of my oldest and most stubborn dandelion weeds in insecurity. I’m constantly battling a litany of negative thoughts and feelings telling me that I’m not good enough. Some days, it’s body image. Other days, it’s decision-making skills. Still other days it’s worry that my own failures as a human being are going to somehow negatively influence my husband and children. These weeds wreck havoc in my life, causing me to feel anxious and depressed, and tempting me to just withdraw from the world around me.

God and I have been working on this particular set of weeds for decades. It’s a lot of mental and emotional work. It involves actively searching for the cause of my insecurity when I feel vulnerable, and making a conscious decision to either let the feeling go or do something about it. In other words, I have to actively burn the weed or turn it into something useful. Either option requires effort and a lot of help from God.

I share my own struggle with you not so that you’ll sympathize with me, but so that you’ll see we all have dandelion weeds that impact how we think and act. We all struggle with things buried deep within our souls. But, continuing to let those things grow is detrimental to the work God has called us to do. We can’t do what God calls us to do when we’re weighted down with weeds. If our soul is rooted with weeds, there’s no room for God’s good fruit. And God’s fruit is SO good!!

Galatians 5 tells us that the fruit of God’s Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Imagine a life where these nine characteristics thrived within us. Imagine what we might do, what we might say, how our relationships might flourish, how much kingdom work might be done. This is what God wants to plant within us, but we have to make room. We have to prune. We have to self-assess. But, we can’t do it alone. We must ask for God’s guidance and revelation. We need to seek his wisdom and soul-tending expertise. And then, we need to use the tools he gives us to dig out those dandelion weeds so he can plant

the seeds of love, 

the seeds of joy, 

the seeds of peace, 

the seeds of patience, 

the seeds of kindness, 

the seeds of goodness, 

the seeds of faithfulness, 

the seeds of gentleness, 

the seeds of self-control.

This week, let’s commit do doing some soul-pruning. Together, let’s ask God to help us identify and begin the process of removing our dandelion weeds. Then, let’s ask God to give us his fruit for the glory of his kingdom.

Blessing and Peace, Sara

Mission

To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Vision

Nelson Memorial UMC seeks to be a place where all God’s broken, hurting, and imperfect children discover wholeness and community while experiencing the warm and welcoming love of Jesus Christ.  We seek to connect with one another to grow in our knowledge and love of God, to encourage each person to live out their unique calling to serve God, and to make a difference in the Boonville community and throughout the world.

Priorities

Developing and Nurturing Faith in Children and Youth

Fostering Growth and Community in Worship and Small Groups

Provide Opportunities to Serve God in Boonville and Beyond

Worship This Week

This Sunday we will continue our “Courageous Faith” message series.  Each week we will take a look at some of the forerunners in our faith and the courageous faith they displayed.  Our message this week will look at Joshua’s story.  Our scripture reading is from the book of Joshua, Chapter 3, verses 7-17.

And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.  Tell the priest who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”

Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.  This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.  See, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you.  Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.  And as soon as the priests who carry the Art of the Lord – the Lord of all the earth – set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”

So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them.  Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during the harvest.  Yet as soon as the priests who carried the Ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing.  It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off.  So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.  The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.“

Our services will begin with the song Yes He Can by Cain.  Our songs for the morning include How Great Thou Art, Everlasting God, and Trust and Obey.  Our choir will bring a special at the 10:20 service – Fall Like Rain.

Virtual Worship Information

In addition to in-person worship, each Sunday we will live-stream our 10:20 worship service. The service can be viewed on our Facebook Page.  The service will start at approximately 10:25 with the Praise Band leading our gathering song.  Additionally, we post a recording of our message each week to our website by early Sunday afternoon.  We are excited to be able to extend our worship services in these ways.

Announcements

Save the Date – VBS July 6th-8th (9-11:30am) – Volunteers are needed to help with Vacation Bible School. This year, our program is called “Make Waves” and we will be teaching the children what they can do to change the world around them! Through fun activities, engaging lessons, and God’s Word, we’ll help kids understand how they can share God’s love with everyone.  The program is open to children 4 years of age to those who have just graduated 5th grade. Please contact a member of the education committee if you are interested in helping!

Breakfast Fundraiser – The United Methodist Men will hold a fundraiser breakfast the morning of Sunday, May 15th from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. There is no cost for the meal, but freewill donations will be accepted and benefit various mission projects of the United Methodist Men. Thank you.

Recognizing Our Graduates High School or College – Please contact the church office if you have a High School or College Graduate in your family this spring.  We would like to be able to congratulate them during an upcoming worship service.  Thank you.

Events this week:

Saturday, May 14: Methodist Men, 8:30 am, Church Lounge

Sunday, May 15: Methodist Men Breakfast Fundraiser, 9-noon, Fellowship Hall

Town-Hall Meeting, 12:00 pm, Fellowship Hall

Youth Group, 6:30 pm, Jackson’s Home

Monday, May 16: TOPS, 9:30 am, Foundations Classroom

Al-Anon, 8:00 pm, Church Lounge

Tuesday, May 17: Administrative Board, 6:00 pm, Fellowship Hall and Zoom

Wednesday, May 18: Women’s Bible Study, 10:15 am, Church Lounge

Al Anon, Noon, Church Lounge

Thursday, May 19: Baby Grace Distribution, 5:00 pm, Church Annex

Friday, May 20: Al-Anon, 7:00 pm, Church Lounge

Closing Words of Wisdom:

Spiritual maturity is measured in terms of persevering faith, not perfect behavior.” – Andy Stanley