Too much of a good thing
Too much of a good thing?
Is too much of a good thing, a bad thing? The front flower bed of our home is full of Ivy…was full of ivy. Yesterday in the warm sunshine I got a wild hair to rip it all out. I adore the Ivy really. I love the little purple flowers that bloom on it in spring and the way it marches across the stairs on the porch. I also love watching our cat Mars bury himself in it and sleep in the shade of its leaves in the summer. But the Ivy was taking over everything else. It was choking out Daffodils, Irises, and Hostas. Everything but the weeds! So as much as I appreciate the green ground cover it gives, it must go. It turns out you can have too much of a good thing.
What if the entirety of our lives are spent this way? What if sometimes we find something, and it’s a really good thing, but it turns out choking out some other really good or important things? Maybe you love watching ESPN—it’s a great way to unwind after a long day—but what if you watch it so much you miss out on time with your family or a meal with your friends? Maybe you love reading but you become so engrossed in your books that you miss what is happening with your loved ones right next to you. Maybe you find a lot of joy in taking care of other people, but at the end of the week you find you’ve been so busy taking care of meals and chores for everyone else, you’ve done nothing for yourself. What if you have spent so much time on Saturday taking care of your family or socializing with your friends that you don’t have the energy for church on Sunday morning…. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.
There are occasions where the things we enjoy as hobbies or opportunities to unwind or unplug become a crutch to us. They are beautiful, but they kind of take over in a way that can be destructive. Other times we have the best of intentions to do what is good and show love, that we find ourselves overwhelmed by the commitments we’ve made. And other times still…these things become ground cover for something dirty underneath. A way to compartmentalize, distract, or avoid something painful or difficult.
Here's the thing. I’ve left some Ivy in the flowerbed. I can’t bear to let it all go, it’s too pretty. However, I know it is going to need regular maintenance. I am going to have to occasionally trim it back and redirect its tendrils, or it will overtake my garden again. What might you need to cut back on? Where might you need to redirect your energies?