Spring always means I start thinking about my dream of a perfect lawn, flowering plants and bushes, and an abundant garden with luscious vegetables. But it’s really only a dream. I don’t have enough determination and know-how to make it actually happen. Besides the lack of knowledge and willingness to work, I’ve got an insidious enemy in my lawn. His name is Charlie. Creeping Charlie.

Creeping Charlie is a ground ivy but that doesn’t really cover all you need to know. According to www.gardeningknowhow.com “the creeping Charlie plant is rivaled only by dandelions in terms of difficulty to get rid of and control.” But they’ve given me hope. It seems all I need to know are a few tips and tricks to “beat this annoying lawn invader.” First I have to identify it by studying its appearance. Then I can stop it from thriving by working to create a healthy lawn. Most recommend using a dicamba-based herbicide. When creeping Charlie hits your flowerbeds, you’ll need to actually use your hands to pull it out or try a smothering technique. Some sources recommend using Borax, but that can kill your other plants too, so be cautious.

If you’ve made it this far in the blog, you’ll be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with giving up something for Lent?” I’m glad you asked. Today’s “giving up” involves bitterness and there is no better analogy than my little plant friend Charlie. Like that ground ivy, bitterness often takes root in an unhealthy situation and grows alone untouched until it has taken over your life. Bitterness is tough to get rid. Determination alone won’t do it. You’ve got to get your life healthy, like I must get my lawn healthy, to truly stop bitterness from growing. The bitterness seed is often planted by an action done against you, something that hurt or offended you. But then you watered it with constantly thinking about, or talking about it with others. Now that bitterness ivy grows and grows, often unchecked until it has taken over the lawn of your life.

Want to get rid of Creeping Bitterness? Use the same techniques as ridding your lawn of Charlie. First you need to identify the condition in your life. Recognize you have this little bugger and then decide to work hard to stop it from spreading. Get your life healthy in other ways – feeding it with the Word of God, watering it with consistent prayer, fertilizing it by spending time in the presence of God. The very best method of killing bitterness is applying a healthy dose of forgiveness periodically. Forgiveness will kill a lot of nasty plants which want to attach themselves to your life. And the great news, forgiveness won’t kill anything good in your life…actually forgiveness works to only kill the crud and causes the good things to thrive. Maybe bitterness has invaded your family relationships already. Like getting rid of Charlie in your flowerbeds, you may actually have to get your hands dirty pulling out each bitterness plant, one by one. It’s worth it. Nothing flourishes like weed-free flower beds or bitterness-free family relationships

It’s spring so let’s get down to business and create a beautiful life by ridding yourself of Creeping Bitterness.