Making a Hotel Reservation

It was a simple phone call. Really. I called the hotel chain where our conference took place this weekend and was greeted by a very nice Latin-sounding woman. She asked my request and as she found out I was in Florida said, "How's the weather?" I thought maybe she was asking because of the impending hurricanes, but I replied: "It's nice today. Hot. But nice."

She told me how beautiful it is in our state. And then she launched into this "Date Palm Dissertation"...From here on it was pretty much her 10 - 30 words to my one-to-three-word answers.

"I was there just eight weeks ago. I just LOVE the way the palm trees line the streets. They are just beautiful. So beautiful. Did you know that those dates from them are very good for you?" Me..."Really?"

"Uh, yes, they are very very good those dates. You just dry them out and they are good to eat. People don't believe it, but they are. I love them. I could eat them all the time. " Me..."I didn't know."

"Yes, yes, yes. You just pick them and dry them out. They are very very good for hot flashes. They help your estrogen levels when you eat them. Ladies really need them." Me..."uh..."

"You should try them. Just go pick some off the tree. You'd be surprised how good they are. They are like...I don't know...People don't believe it, but they are. You eat and no more hot flashes." Me..."Interesting!"

This "conversation" continued for about five minutes. And the following things ran through my mind during our encounter...

* Can you please just get me my reservation?
* I'm really tired. How long will she talk?
* I think the palms in my yard are date palms?
* I wonder if you really CAN eat those dates?
* I thought there were actual "date trees".

And probably the most pressing question of all...

JUST WHAT MADE HER THINK I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT DATE PALMS AND HOT FLASHES ANYWAY???

Pulling Up Weeds

I have spent the past three hours pulling up weeds and pruning my plants. Now this is NOT my favorite job...but I LOVE it when my plants look pretty and the beds are weedless...or pretty close to it.

I dealt with some very stubborn weeds today. You know, the kind where you pull and THINK you have the root, but they just break off before the root comes up? In fact, as I sat digging to find the main roots, I thought, "I think I tried to pull you up a couple of weeks ago! What are you doing back here in my plants?"

And as I dug, I again was taken back to the scriptures about plants, weeds, and roots. The truth is, our sin is just like those weeds. It grows up and chokes the beautiful plants around it. And just when you think you have "dug up" and thrown out the sin...you find there's still this tiny root that is growing (festering) underground and waiting for the opportune time to pop up!!

We MUST dig those roots all the way out! And as laborious as it is to get rid of the weeds and their roots (and more so our sin), it's a MUST DO. If we wait too long, they grow more rapidly and more widespread. If we get them right away, it's easier.

In fact, better than just pulling them out by hand....we need to trust that the Master Gardener will spray some Weed-Be-Gone on them!!! So my thought for the day...are there weeds I haven't dug up? If so, God, help me see them and get to the REAL root of the problem. Help me be a fruitful and mindful of the junk that can choke me from being my absolute best for you.