Sabbath Devotional :: Thistling

My husband and I have a routine in July. At 5:30 pm we deck ourselves out in rugged clothing from hats to thick gloves to boots. We climb into our UTV (Utility Terrain Vehicle), arm ourselves with sturdy, sharp little clippers and drive on our acreage (which includes a lot of wilderness land) until we find a batch of thistles.

In sunlight, thistles can look dazzlingly beautiful — like a hundred proud purple heads surveying their domain. In Scotland the thistle is the national flower. In some areas thistles are used for teas and some say dried out thistle heads can be used for horse fodder. For New Age mystics, the meanings of the thistle are Endurance, Unity and Victory.

Looks and labels can be deceiving.

Where we live thistles are an invasive, stubborn, and noxious weed which chokes out indigenous plants and competes for nutrients. Yes, they endure. Yes, they are united (by a vast and deep root system which helps their longevity). Yes, they are victorious — in overrunning the plants that are designed to grow up here in the mountains.

We are tasked as homeowners to get rid of as many as we can. So on our evening junkets, we stop whenever we see a thistle (or 20) and snip off its (their) seedy head(s). We also clip it off at the base and tromp on the stalk. Ideally we uproot it, but that sometimes takes more muscle than we have. We then toss the thistle heads into the indignity of the garbage can we carry in the back of the ranger.

We limit ourselves to a half an hour of “thistling.” This way the chore is less onerous…and we make it back in time for the night’s potpourri of breaking news.

I see metaphorical application in this little routine of ours.

First I see a metaphor for my own spiritual health. I ask myself — what are the “noxious weeds” that are growing in my life that crowd out my ability to be led by the Spirit? Even if they’re dazzling and beautiful — like the purple heads of thistles or the glitzy, goofy headlines on Facebook — can I snip off those distractions and recognize what I most need to pay attention to? Sometimes it takes a brave hunt into those thorny patches to face them, get poked by them, examine them and note the impact they are having on my overall health and spiritual growth. The point is not to wallow in the thistle patch, but to do all I can to eradicate it.

I see a political application as well. When I am researching issues that affect me or my country, do I spend all my energy yelping about getting poked and annoyed, venting with emojis and comments in my own little echo chamber? Am I wallowing again or will I take action? Do I dig deep, locate the realities of the situation, assess where the trouble spots are and actively apply sharp pressure to the parts that need the most change? Do I honor the small and steady actions I am able to do — the little snip here? The half hour there?

Do I believe this scripture? “Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.” Alma 37:6

Endurance, Unity and Victory — we all aspire to these. We won’t reap these qualities if we allow weedy, pokey issues to thrive in our mental and spiritual spaces. We need to reclaim our soil which is full of the nutrients designed by God for our souls. We can sink deep roots and help one another in unity toward this effort. Victory will not necessarily be in achieving all our hoped for outcomes. Victory will come in a more essential and eternal quest — our connection to the love, peace and power of our God.