We have had some wacky spring weather on the North Olympic Peninsula this year. We have had snow falling in late April, an unusual phenomenon. There are a number of signs that let me know when spring truly has arrived on the North Olympic Peninsula. There are more days of sunshine. The temperatures warm up although not as fast as we might like. One of our members looks forward to the return of the hummingbirds to the feeders surrounding her home. I listen for more talk of camping and get-aways to one of our local lakes. For me, the surest sign of spring is the return of those yellow flowers that seem to dominate my yard, those pesky dandelions! Despite the recent snow, they are not to be deterred. They are back!

I tried a new tactic a few years ago. At the encouragement of one of our members, I bought a fancy new tool that supposedly takes out the plant and the roots at the same time. Over a period of weeks, I went out for thirty minutes in the evenings to exercise my new technique. It worked or so I thought until I stepped back and looked at the overall effect of my efforts. My lawn looked like a miniature golf course with brown depressions dotting the landscape where a dandelion formerly grew! I took consolation in my apparent success by scattering grass seed into the holes. I apparently did not water enough because as the lawn dried out during the summer months, it looked like a moonscape with craters where I used to have plants. The worst of it was that new dandelions were growing out of the same holes from which I had removed the previous ones. Apparently I had not been as successful at getting to the roots as I had hoped!

Enough about my tale of woe… I am not likely to free my lawn of dandelions anytime soon nor am I likely to free my life from the effects of my sinful nature. I can pull and tug all I want. I can deal with the surface symptoms but I cannot get at the root of my problem. Only God can do that. That comes about as I nurture the deep soil of my life and allow God to permeate more and more of who I am. I am not there yet nor is anyone else that I know. But God is gracious and forgiving. I think God sees more readily the lush lawn of my life and fails to see the weeds. Maybe I need to do that too.

Have a great spring! Appreciate the good things in your life!

Admiring the lawn,

Pastor Ted