My name is Jerry, and I am a recovering yardoholic. 

When we lived in town, our yard was immaculate. Green, thick, and lush. If a weed appeared, I sprayed it within 24 hours and watched, with joy, as it died a slow, agonizing death.

We moved out of town 10 years ago. I now mow over 2 acres. I was tired of maintaining my yard, so once we moved, I vowed that I would never treat it again. So far, so good. When spring appears, I have an assortment of “weeds.” I wonder if my neighbors across the street who treat their beautiful, weedless yards hate me. When August rolls around and it stops raining, I don’t have to mow (because I don’t water my grass either).

When I was mowing the other day, I stopped to take the above picture. Yes, there is green grass; but the grass is delightfully decorated with beautiful purple, white, and yellow (we call them dandelions) flowers! They grow naturally. No effort needed. Gifts from God. We refer to them as…weeds.

Most of us want our yards to be green, so we kill the purple, white, and yellow things in our yard. Then we plant them in our flower beds, where we have to work hard to keep them blooming! 

Consider this: perhaps sometimes it’s best to just let God be God. We may need to quit trying to control our lives (and our yards). Our efforts to control lead to stress, worry, and extra work, when God just wants us to trust and even enjoy Him! 

Pastor and author John Piper says, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.”

Try enjoying God instead of fretting about everything that is around you! You’ll be amazed how it will change your perspective!

Jesus said it much better than I can.

²⁸ “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, ²⁹ yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. ³⁰ And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” Matthew 6:28-30, NLT

Whatever it takes,

Jerry