I had an agenda. I planned to feed everyone breakfast and then head outside to pull some weeds from the flower beds around the front of our house. We had allowed to yard to get a little out of control and it was time to whip it back into shape.
As we finished breakfast though, I sensed there was something going on with my oldest children. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but things were not right. I asked them what was up, but their answers were- Nothin’
Not satisfied with that answer I asked again in a slightly different way. I asked- “Is anyone feeling frustrated by someone or something?” Anyone wish they could put on some boxing gloves and go coco loco and then you would feel all better?” That did it. First one daughter mentioned she was irritated with one of her sisters. Then another sister mentioned she too was bothered.
We talked about the root of their frustrations. We brainstormed ways to communicate with one another to prevent misunderstandings and hard feelings. They even came up with a strategy to lessen their frustration with one another. Later I got the chance to hear how I sometimes contribute to their issues and how I could better serve them.
By the time we finished our long conversation I realized that the plan to pull weeds had a deeper meaning than I realized. I thought the plan was to pull weeds in the yard, but the plan was to pull them first out of our hearts.
