Daily Devotional for January 31, 2020
Weeds of Complaint
“This is so boring!” Evie said. “I thought we were on a mission trip. What does pulling weeds have to do with anything?” Evie sat back on her feet and wiped the sweat from her face. She glanced at her friend Mindi. “Man, it’s hot. Don’t you think we could go in the church to cool off? I’m getting eaten by mosquitos.” Evie swatted at an unseen bug.
“Stop complaining, Evie,” Mindi said. “This is what they asked us to do, so this is what we’re doing.”
Evie tossed another weed into the bucket. What a waste of time.
“Miss Karen,” Evie called to their supervisor. “Aren’t you hot? We won’t be able to get all these weeds pulled. Who’s going to see this place, anyway?”
Miss Karen walked over to the two girls. “The pastor of this church said this is going to be a prayer garden. That’s a very special place where people spend time with Jesus.”
“I know,” Evie said. “But pulling weeds is no fun.”
Miss Karen squatted down next to Evie. “I think the garden is looking better already. Did you notice the periwinkle over there?”
Evie and Mindi looked toward where Miss Karen pointed. A small cluster of purple blossoms poked through the ground. A few minutes before, the same area had been covered in weeds.
“You know, this garden is a lot like our lives,” Miss Karen said.
“How’s that?” asked Evie.
“You didn’t know those flowers were there, did you?” Miss Karen pulled a weed. “Because they were covered up by the weeds.”
“No, I guess not,” Evie said.
Mindi shook her head. “I didn’t.”
“Complaining does the same thing. When we constantly complain about things we don’t like, others can’t see the joy we have in Jesus or hear about the good things He’s done for us. Until you remove the complaints, it’s hard for others to see the beautiful garden God’s planted in our lives.”
Evie glanced down at her dirty hands, then peered over at Mindi. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay.” Mindi smiled. “Why don’t we see if we can find some more flowers under these weeds?”
“Sounds like a good idea to me.” Evie returned the smile. It felt much better than complaining. -Nancy C. Todd
How about you?
Do you complain when you’re asked to clean your room or wash dishes? Not everything is fun. Sometimes we have to do things that are boring. It’s tempting to complain when we have to do something we don’t like, but Jesus wants us to do everything as if we are doing it for Him. Do the work He gives you without complaining so others can see His beauty in your life.
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