They don’t come much wiser than the man I married.
I mean, really, he’s got a way with helping me see things from a different–and often wiser–angle. His witty, sometimes quirky, always amusing knack of enlightening my thoughts to truth is a gift. One of his most recent I shared at my local Bring Your Own Bible and Beverage event last week.
“A weed is just a flower out of place.” –Bill Lefebure
(Quote adapted from the original quote of George Washington Carver.)
A weed and a flower.
Think for a moment, who is that person in your life who tends to rub you in the wrong way? Who makes you uncomfortable? That one who is hard to get a long with?
In having a conversation about this with Bill last week, he reminded me of a truth I’ve tucked deep in my heart.
“Hurting people hurt people.”
Yes, they do. We’ve all experienced this truth, in one way or another. Sometimes those who are hurting the most lash out and hurt others around them. They might not even realize what they are doing. Bill helped me see through a farming analogy how this person in my life may not only be hurting, but may also be out of place.
A large farm field lies behind our home. Some years our family plants seed corn in it and other years it’s soybeans. Every once in awhile though, another kind of seed makes its home in that field in among the corn or beans. Maybe it’s a Morning Glory or one of my Poppy plants. I think they both are beautiful. But, they belong in my flower beds, not in a corn or bean field.
Location makes all the difference.
In my flower beds, they are flowers. In a bean field, they are weeds. Yes, location does make all the difference.
A weed is just a flower out of place. Those people in our lives who bug us? Maybe they are a lot like these and are just planted in the wrong place. Maybe they are lost in among a big field of other plants. And, maybe, based on where they are, could they be looked at as weeds?
Instead of a weed, could this person be a flower in disguise? Could we be viewing them in the wrong light, in the wrong setting? What if we saw them as God sees them? He doesn’t consider anyone a weed. He created us all as beautiful flowers.
Maybe that weed is really a flower.
What my husband said next inspired me to think of this person differently.
If this person is a flower, but is planted in the wrong place, maybe you could help him/her find the place they’d bloom best?
(See what I mean? Isn’t he wise??)
We can help others find the place they’d bloom best.
Instead of dreading or avoiding or allowing ourselves to be irritated by this person, what if we encouraged him or her? What if we built him up in honesty and integrity and helped him in ways only we can? What if we decided to shine the light of Jesus in her life so she could thrive right where she is? Or could you and I help replant him/her to the place he/she would bloom best?
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
A change of perspective might change everything.
Especially in how you and I see the weeds in our lives.
Bless you, friend!
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I love this concept, Julie. And boy did I need to hear it too. I’ve been dealing w/ an ongoing and rather difficult church/work situation. Oh, to see this weed as a flower.
Step one is, instead of referring to them as a “nightmare” or other similar adjectives, “misplaced” really does fit.
Step two, I’m not sure how to help guide them to where they can better bloom, but I’ll be prayerful regarding how.
Thanks!
Kim, thanks for your thoughts here. I sure appreciate them. Yes, the words misplaced has changed my perspective! I’m praying also for how God might use me in helping this person bloom. I don’t have the answer yet. Keep me posted on your situation if you think of it. Bless you!
This is great, Julie! I remember one time I made a comment about what a woman was wearing…in my pea-brain I thought it was flamboyant and inappropriate for her age and my husband said to me, “She’s obviously confident in who she is.” That changed the way I think right then and there! Sort of the same thing as a misplaced weed. It’s all about our perspective isn’t it? I wish I would remember to look at others as God does more than what “Cindy” thinks. Thank you for sharing this wise husband and wife team post! Once again, your words inspire me! Cindy
Hi Cindy! Thank you for sharing this experience with me. Our husbands are wise in pointing us in a different direction, aren’t they? I’m with you… I want to remember to look at others and see them they way God sees them more than how I see them. I sure appreciate your perspective, friend. Thanks for being here!