Briars {In the Garden and Life}

I don’t like to wear gloves when I garden.

But we have these pesky briars that grow in many places throughout our garden.

I tried and tried to figure out how to pull them up without having to put on my gloves and I was pricked every time.

Then I starting thinking….I wonder if the briars go all the way down to the roots???? So, I dug a little around the root and realized that there were none once you reached down under all the soil….all the way to the root. But you had to get dirty.

God has always used nature, gardening, art….to speak to me and teach me lessons. As I was pulling several briars up a while ago I realized that there is such a wonderful parallel in life…something that I need to be reminded of often.

People can have briars just like these pesky weeds. You know, they are the ones you don’t enjoy being around, that get on your nerves, that are always grumpy……

You feel like you have to ‘put on your gloves’ to deal with them….or stay far away.

It seems as if they are weeds in the garden of life.

But the truth is…..way down by the root, there are no briars….usually just some soft wounds.  The briars are their protection…or what they THINK is their protection.

If we are willing to get dirty….and get below the briars we can see a whole different ‘plant’.

One that was very different when it started growing.

This perspective has helped me a lot when dealing with the ‘briars’ that cross my path….in life and in the garden.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend~