Thistle

Apr 29

It’s that time again! It is time to get into the garden. This year, I’ve got some help. Fr. Stew moved into our community last fall, and his favorite task? Pulling weeds.

Weeds are a reality in every garden. My particular nemesis: thistle. These invasive plants are nearly impossible to eradicate. They send out underground runners that slip into even the most protected beds. Pull them, and they return. Now they’ve made their way into my raised vegetable beds, surviving weed barriers, pushing through stone, and spreading wherever they can. I cannot stop them.

St. Francis de Sales held the Song of Songs as one of the most precious books of Scripture. This book of Hebrew love poetry tells the story of two lovers searching for one another. St. Francis saw this description as a reflection of his own relationship with God. He saw it as a story of love.

In Song of Songs 8:7, we read, “Many waters cannot quench love, rivers cannot sweep it away.” If I were to put it in my own words, I might say the love of God is like thistle, spreading through barriers, breaking through stone, and impossible to root out.

In one sense, that is deeply consoling. This love pushes through barriers, doesn’t withdraw when resisted, or fade away when ignored. It is persistent, ready, and already rooted.

However, in another sense, it is unsettling. A love that invades areas walled off and punches through stone moves past the edges we prefer. It moves into the areas that are vulnerable, hidden, and unfinished.

In my own life, I often try to manage God’s love. I say, “Love here, not there; touch this, not that; look here, not there.” I cultivate certain areas and fence off others, hoping to keep some control over what grows.

But the thistle presses on! No longer a nemesis but a wonder. I wonder…

Where will I find you next Lord?

How long have you already been here?

May God be praised!