There’s a small city-owned park outside my back door. The playground has a large gravel area for kids to run in. Over many years, sticky grasses and weeds grew around the edge of the gravel and created a thick mat of roots and old stems. The city sprayed herbicide on the weeds toward the end of each summer, but seeds fell and sprouted, adding to the already dense growth. Plus, spraying chemicals where children play is a bad idea.
Sweaty, Dirty, and Slow.
One spring I decided to dig out the weeds and remove them. Most evenings I went to the playground. I sat on the ground, dug out the roots and carried the weeds back to my own garbage can. It was sweaty, dirty work, and a very slow process as I could only remove a small square of growth each night.
Neighbors walking in the park sometimes stopped, mostly curious about why I would go to all that work. A few decided to help but gave up quickly. Most told me directly, or indirectly, that my vision of a weed-free playground was crazy.
It took three years of dedicated effort to get rid of the weeds. Now I spend about 20 minutes a few times each summer to maintain it. Even though maintenance is minimal, I know I must show up or the weeds will quickly return.
A Spiritual Journey is Hard Work Too.
The call of the spiritual journey is like that untended plot of weeds. We respond to the call only to realize it is mostly hard and dirty work. Progress is slow, frustrations build, and we just want the journey to end. Our family and friends tell us that we are crazy, going the wrong direction, or that we’ll never make it. We travel alone on the most significant journey of our lives.
And just when we see the clean and beautiful plot of ground we created, we also see the sprouts of tiny weeds returning. The journey is never finished, and we must show up again and again.
Your spiritual journey may take many paths, and it will continue for the rest of your life. A Certified Spiritual Director is trained to listen with compassion and encouragement through the ups and downs of your personal journey. Your first session is free.