The Trouble with Procrastination

My wife had been gently reminding me for weeks, well, maybe months, to dig up a very large and growing thistle in our back garden. We had removed a dead bush in a patch, and hadn’t replaced it with anything else. Now this bin lid sized thistle was growing like the proverbial beanstalk in Aesop’s fable. So, with garden fork and spade in hand, it was time to deal with this bad boy. I thought it would be a dawdle. A couple of digs around the base and it would lift out no bother. However, not being a gardener, I had no idea just how troublesome this old thistle would prove. 

What I hadn’t reckoned on was the extensive root system. Those roots had twisted around the nearby roots of another big bush. And if that wasn’t bad enough it had a very big tap-root deep into the ground. Boy, this thing wasn’t going to give up its territory without a fight. Eventually though, after much digging, hacking and prising, I managed to extract the beast.

Lessons were learned that day. First, if you dig a plant out, replace it with another plant. If not, nature with do it for you. And the result will be more work than you bargained for. Secondly, do not give a weed lots of time to grow. It will take advantage of your neglect and carelessness. Thirdly, listen to your wife more often. “I haven’t got the time dear” doesn’t work. In the end it’s only going to be twice the work.

I’m reminded of the little ditty: “Procrastination is my sin,  It brings me nought but sorrow, I know that I should stop it,  In fact, I will..…tomorrow.”  Proverbs 6:9-10 “How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall your poverty come to you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man.” There may be some things in our lives we should be taking care of right now. We have been putting them off too long. We have allowed the weeds to come up in our hearts and we ignored them. Now they are thriving. Some have taken hold for too long. Their roots have gone deep. But with a determined effort, and by the grace of God, we can uproot them and plant some better things in their place. Plant things that will bear good fruit. 

- Pastor David Goudy