Hope for Lawns

The writer of Hebrews admonishes "Follow peace with all men...Looking diligently lest... any root of bitterness springing up troubles you, and thereby many be defiled." Almost everyone knows what this means. 
I remember a sweet fellowship of college aged Christians. We met every week, crowded into the living room, dining room, entry hall and partway up the stairs. The worship was always intense and refreshing. But you know how people are. Here a barb, there a jab and there a mis-spoken word. Toes get stepped on in a crowded room; especially a room full of post adolescent singles. One day I was warming myself in the glow of the group's devotional fire, the next I found myself grousing about this one and that one as I took my prayer walk through my favorite park. What a surprise. I was not alone in my misery; others quietly slipped away from the gathering to nurse wounds that appeared on their souls. Eventually the fervor of the meeting faded and we all grew up and moved away. 
Weeds happen. One day you're sitting on your lawn chair, sipping a mint julep, and looking out over a plush green lawn, your soul brimming with contentment and a bit of pride. Then, overnight and out of nowhere, there rises a dandelion in full obnoxious glory. It boolms and scatters seeds across the fence into to your neighbor's cherished work of green. Your serinity is dashed and your world defiled. You may even grumble at your neighbor when she melodically calls over the fence,"Good morning, you." Next thing she knows, she's barking at the cat. That's just the way this life is; one mis-rooted weed spreads the seeds of misery all around it.  
But the writer of Hebrews warns us to be on guard against the little irks that sprout up into our friendships. They mess everything up. 
That's what forgiveness is for. It guards our hearts. If animosity takes root, the forgiveness that God has placed within us will pull it out and restore us to song. Jesus spoke of living and dwelling in His love so that our joy may be full. He specifically said to reside in His love. He did not recommend setting up house in our own love. His heart is available to us. We can love from that heart; we can forgive from that heart. His joyous love is a real weed killer.