Weeds are a common thing. Everyone has weeds somewhere in their life. One interesting point is what constitutes a weed. I was talking to some folks the other day who are immigrants from another country. They were working outside in their garden, trimming and pruning a rather large plant in that garden and pulling the small weeds from around its base. I looked at the plant which they were giving such great care to and recognized it right away. It was a large thistle plant. Yep, that’s right a thistle. It had great burrs growing all over it. They smiled and pointed to it with pride. “These are from our home country. We like them very much!” The little older man said to me, with bright, excited eyes.
I did my best impression of being happy for them and enthusiastic about their wonderful plant, in which they took obvious great pride. All the while, inside, I’m thinking, “This is a thistle. I kill them all the time. I hate these thistles. What on earth is wrong with these people? Are they perhaps lunatics who escaped their country or perhaps they were banished from there or even secretly drugged and put on a boat in the middle of the night by some neighbor who couldn’t take another second of their ‘plants.’”
I forced my focus back to reality and the things that this man and woman were saying. I instantly recognized that they were quite intelligent. They spoke of their joy of living in America. They spoke about life and joy, kindness and happiness. They spoke of God and their devotion to Him. They told me how happy that they were that I had taken the time to stop and chat with them. They told me of the many things which God had blessed them with, children, grandchildren and overall good health.
These were not insane, escapees, nor were they people who anyone would want to get away from. In fact, when time would no longer allow me to stay on with them, I felt a twinge of regret that I would have to leave them so soon.
These lovely, kind folks were able to see beauty in something that most would certainly and immediately dismiss as a weed. I wonder how often that happens with other things; things we’d immediately categorize and oppose, before we’ve even looked at it for its potential for beauty or usefulness. I was ready to dismiss these nice folks as weeds in society until I gave them a second look or maybe a look for the first time for who they truly were, instead of what I first thought about them. Blessings

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