I have never liked gardening. As a kid it was my job, and my lazy brothers, to weed the garden. And we would always put it off, or do a crummy job, until the weeds had stalks like tree trunks. Tomorrow morning I’ll be out in my own garden, and guess how big the weeds are? That is right. Huge. Some are about as tall as me.
However, I do like finding these little friends in the garden. Horned Frogs have always fascinated me. As a kid we were told they could spit some type of poison that would blind you. That is a cool friend to have. I found this one last time I was doing some yard work. He was running around trying to avoid the mower. He did, as did his family. He had taken refuge in my forest of weeds. Problem is, I displaced him because the weeds never let the garden grow. So when the weeds went, so did his home. He could have had a home in a bed of watermelon. Or corn. I left him with weeds. And then I took them.
Got me thinking though about my life-long tendency to procrastinate. The job almost always has to be done anyway. It is never as easy when it has been put off, especially when I’ve been reminded of it by a loving wife, or just by walking outside and wondering what was blocking the sun. And I rarely put things off because I’m doing something important. (Just trying to be honest)
A friend of mine, the amazing Sarah Stapleton noted one of the things we are because God is our Creator:
1. We are Stewards of the resources we’ve been given. Of those resources Time is the most valuable commodity we have. I can earn money, buy things, show off my stuff. But not Time. All you have is all you need for that moment. And I can’t save it up like rollover minutes. And how much of it do we waste? Ouch. Someone once said, “the worst form of murder is to kill time.” Tomorrow I’ll spend a lot of it on really big weeds. And in all likelihood I’ll displace a few critters. I hope I’ll be a better about my allotment of time.
2. The second thing I’m learning is about displacement. Not just the little fellow in the picture. What could I be doing with my time instead of extra hours in the weed-patch. I could be not sweating inside with my kids on a Saturday morning. I could be playing with them and building some great memories of this fleeting time that I have with them in my house. I could be gazing at my wife as the sun breaks through the windows and gently falls upon her peaceful slumber. I’ve displaced some great potential memories.
Be a good steward. Especially with Time.
What out for displacement. Sounds awkward. But someone always looses.