Flowers in the Weeds

I spent some time working in my garden recently. I call it a garden but it’s more of a small green space filled with perennials, such as hostas and zebra grass. It’s an area underneath some trees left from the land was a good-ole Iowa farm.

In the past few years, I neglected it some. Looking at the various weeds that come back every year seems intimidating. To say they were overgrown would be an understatement.

It was time to do something about that.

I woke up early and rolled over to get back to sleep. “If you start now, you’ll beat the heat,” my mind said.

“Shut up and go back to sleep,” I said.

“It’s cool now. You could be finished quickly and still have the full day.”

“Shut up! Go to sleep!” I begged.

“Think how nice it’ll look once the weeds are pulled.”

I get up and throw on some work clothes. At first, it looks intimidating. So many weeds. So much work!

Then, I breathe and get to it. Progress feels slow, yet, when I look behind me, the area is starting to look nicer. Things are going faster than I thought they would.

I uncover a hosta that was surrounded by tall weeds. It seemed to stand a little taller.

I keep pulling the tall grass that I can’t get rid of. Here’s a dandelion. The Virginia stickweed gives a little resistance before it comes up. This huge burdock needs the spade to dig up the root.

There, among the weeds, one blooming daylily resists the urge to give up.

Suddenly, before my eyes, there it is! A lone daylily. With a bloom fighting to make its presence known. The bright yellow-orange flower stands proud, even surrounded by weeds. I take a moment to reflect on the beauty I found.

I’m exhausted. My shoulders ache, and I know my legs are going to hate me later. Yet, in that moment, seeing that daylily bloom and the beauty of its flower, I knew the hard work was worth it.

I was reminded that we all need to spend time pulling weeds somedays. Granted, it’s not fun or pleasant. It takes work. Maybe it’s that one task we keep putting off (I swear, I’m going to replace the baseboards any day now!). Maybe it’s taking time to clean the garage. Or have that difficult conversation with a co-worker, manager, or team. Maybe it’s time to reflect on our relationships and weed the toxic ones out.

Keep your eyes open though. While you’re doing the hard work, you may find something beautiful.

Take some time in the next week or so to pull some weeds. Then, look for the beauty in your work.