June 18 – “Flower Bed Universe”

They drained 1300 cc's of fluid from Chris' Mom this morning.  They could not do the chest tube option because she still has an infection that they are dealing with.  And they will not let her go home without the chest tube.  It is "too dangerous."  So that means we are in it for the long haul this time.  Chris' Dad went home to get some more clothes and to collect another round of his medicines.  Chris wants to come home this evening whenever he gets back.  Wish I could have dinner ready for her when she gets back.  Maybe she'll agree to go out to eat.  Or maybe we can order a pizza.  I bet she won't want to leave once we get here, except maybe to go see Jachin and Micah or Cailyn.   I had already decided this morning to do something to surprise her when she came home.  I had my assigned task – to water the back yard.  But I also ventured into the realm of weeding the flower bed.  I have attempted a few forays in that direction over the years, but never a task so daunting as this appeared.  I didn't think it could be all that bad.  Just pull out anything that doesn't look like those plants with the blue or white flowers on top.  That was my plan.    I never really realized what a microcosm of the universe existed under all that brush, er, ground cover.  Spiders everywhere of all different sizes and colors.  No tarantulas that I noticed, though.  And none of them bothered me.  I only saw one of those worms that turn into june bugs.  Took care of that one.  There were all kinds of beetles and crawly things under there.  And all of them pretty much ran away when they detected the presence of the massive evil intruder.  I was worried the first time I dug into an ant bed.  Those little dudes can me mean.  They swarmed all over the dirt and weeds, doing their job, I suppose – "Protect the queen!"  I had gloves on, so I was a bit more adventurous than normal.  I talked to them nicely as I pulled all around them.  More than a few crawled onto my gloves, but I never felt a bite.  I tried to explain that if they would just wait a few minutes a lot of their digging jobs would be so much easier.  They didn't listen too well.  Guess I'd have to be an ant to communicate with them.  Hmm.  Why does that sound familiar?    The weeds were a nightmare.  There were a bunch of different kinds.  Some came right up by the roots when I pulled.  Others – most of them – were not so cooperative.  It seemed that whenever I pulled, there were roots that led to somewhere else.  Always something deeper, under the surface, holding on, not wanting to let go.  Hmm.    There was this one particular kind of weed that every time I reached for it, I realized it was growing right between two of the good plants.  And it held on tight, forcing me to use my aching fingers more than I really wanted to.    The biggest surprise, though, was the number of little tiny good plants hidden underneath and mixed in with the offending weed population.  That made the job a lot harder.  Now I had to watch out for good guys being attacked by weeds from every direction.  I realized that the flowers I saw at first glance – the one son top of the weed mass - were from the strongest of the crowd.  Hidden from the vital sunlight were hundreds of tiny weaker ones, struggling to last one more day.  There was nothing they could do about their predicament.  There was no way they could get enough sun and water and nourishment from the soil to survive without outside help.  Enter me.  Hmm.   Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. "   Father, wow.  Thanks for showing me that truth in the garden.  Amen.