Procrastination

In one of last year’s reflections (The Solution) I wrote about the problem in our garden that was brought about by our neighbour cutting down the lovely trees in her garden. There was another problem in our garden and sadly, it came about because of procrastination on my part. Two years ago, as I walked to the water butt behind the woodshed, I noticed a single ground elder plant growing in the shingle. ‘That must go’ was my immediate response. Bindweed and ground elder are my two most dreaded weed enemies because they are so invasive and difficult to get rid of. Every so often I would expressed the same sentiment of ‘they must go’ without any action to back it up.

By the end of the summer a green carpet of ground elder had crept onto the edge of the garden. Bad weather and lack of time left some of the autumnal jobs in the garden unfinished that year. Weeding the ground elder was left to the spring. It grew well until it found the garden composter and then firmly packed itself around the composter’s base. The disaster was discovered when the water from the butts was needed for the garden. It was painstaking work forking out masses of thick roots twisting around each other as in a vice to protect their removal from such a nutritious site. It was even more disturbing that those roots had found their way underneath the composter. The most practical way to deal with the problem seemed to be to leave the composter until the autumn when it was emptied and spread on the garden and then weed out the thick roots. How wrong I was.

In the autumn the full extent of the folly of my procrastination and neglect stared me in the face. The composter was lifted off and an ingenious piece of art that could best be described as the crafting of a wicker basket one third of the composter in height held the well- rotted compost inside it. An entire composter’s contents and its thick, white rope base and sides were binned. What a terrible waste for any gardener to see let alone be responsible for!

The composter needed a new site. The old site could not be used for a couple of years until every new elder plant had been weeded out the hard way with a hand fork. Each tiny piece of elder root left behind will produce another plant which will grow and flourish in the fertile rich soil underneath and around the composter. There was only one place that it could go - to the opposite end of the garden in full view of everyone and with the heat of the afternoon sun shining full onto it. Too exposed and far too hot! A large, variegated green and silver-leaved ivy and a buddleia are flourishing where the composter once stood – helped in no small measure by a mild autumn.

There are some lessons that I take very much to heart. This will be one of them. I neglected to ensure that something I enjoyed, namely my garden, was kept safe from something that had the potential of overrunning it. Procrastination, together with the philosophy – out sight, out of mind – was the reason the matter wasn’t dealt with. In this modern way of recycling we have banks and bins for a number of waste materials. The composter is a modern version of the old fashioned compost heap. If we don’t want to have a composter we can use the green wheelie bin. We bin it and someone else disposes of it for us.

The ground elder crept under the fence from a neighbour’s garden. They had dealt with their patch with a weed killer. The one that got away did the damage in my garden and I cannot blame them because it was my side of the fence. It was my responsibility to deal with it - my fault, not theirs. No matter how many helpers watered the garden and saw the ground elder patch – most of whom would not have recognised what it was or its damaging potential – I could not blame, even partially, for what was totally mine to recognise and deal with.

So it is with life. If we fail to deal with something that is wrong, as soon as we know it is wrong, we cannot point the finger at someone else. When we say, ‘I am responsible’ then we will begin to do something about it.

New Year 2012

None of us can predict the course of 2012. I anticipate that it will turn out to be much the same as last year and previous years – busy, and the often predictable ups and downs within the family and work. Hopefully there will be fewer disappointments and sadness and more opportunity to enjoy the things that give us pleasure.

My concluding thoughts from the Christmas narrative are taken from the thoughts of Mary, the mother of Jesus. I can only deduce that any notions of the idyllic family were not realised in her life as a wife and mother. From the conception to the crucifixion of her firstborn she heard and saw many things which she could not understand.

Shepherds were the first visitors. Poor folk, who lived rough – those whom the townsfolk had little time for. I am sure that they in their feverish excitement poured out what had taken place in the sky that night. When they left they would have told everyone whom they met that what they had seen and heard was true because they had seen the baby just as they had been told they would. We read that:

‘Mary treasured up all these things and pondered then in her heart’ Luke2:19.

The Magi came months later, dressed in the robes of the learned and respected. They bowed and worshipped the child offering gifts of great expense – gold, myrrh and frankincense. What a contrast to the visit of the shepherds months earlier!

At Jesus consecration, Simeon, an elderly man, greets the couple as they enter the temple courts, and taking the baby into his arms ends his prophetic prayer by saying to Mary:

‘And a sword will pierce your own soul too’ Luke 2:35.

The earlier years of her child’s life were spent in Egypt far away from family and friends. Jesus was different from other children. At the age of 12 his parents found him sitting with the rabbis who were impressed with his phenomenal understanding of the Mosaic Law ( Luke 2:41-52). At some stage, Joseph died leaving Mary a widow and a family.

At thirty years old Jesus became a teacher of the Kingdom of God. He was ridiculed as being offensive in his home town, Nazareth (Matthew 13:55-56). As his followers multiplied in number so his enemies grew too. Although his brothers did not believe in his teachings until after his resurrection his mother faithfully upheld her belief in him - John 2:1-12. ‘…. Do whatever he tells you to do.’ When Mary and his brothers went to find him, when they heard he was accused of having an evil spirit, he responded with ‘who are my mother and brothers. – ‘Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother’ (Mark 10:30-34). She became his devoted follower and, with a small group of friends, looked after him and the disciples as they travelled throughout Galilee.

Perhaps Simeon’s word of a sword piercing her heart summed up her terrible pain as she watched her own flesh and blood die on the cross. What untold agony for any mother. What an amazing ending to years of difficulty to find your son resurrected from the dead and then ascend into heavens with a promise to return!

Living life is like going on a journey. As each year passes we are further down the road on that journey. That journey will take us out of our comfort zone. Things might not happen as we planned, or the unexpected brings difficulties that cause us grief, hardship and loneliness. We could end up in a state of blind panic, exhilarated at the top of a mountain or down in a pit of despair. A sense of well-being or satisfaction could make a period of hard work worthwhile. On the other hand, we might feel that, in spite of everything that has or has not happened - we have survived.

An attitude of heart that trusts, keeps things in perspective, does not get hung up on what it does not understand and walks in integrity at all times, will keep us on the journey through another year. We need to treasure good things to encourage us to keep going when the going gets tough. It is better to ponder the things which we cannot understand rather than allow ourselves to fret and fume - for in time things will be said or happen - then we will understand. Above all, it is good to cling on to our faith – in times of testing it grows stronger and is our sustenance.