Weeds

A few years ago we were going on a 15 day vacation.  I spent time the day before we left pulling weeds knowing that a little weed today, left alone, would no longer be a little weed.

A little bad habit today can grow into a harmful habit.
A little annoyance can grow into a frustration.
A little nick can grow into a gaping hole.
A little misunderstanding can grow into a lost relationship.

If left alone, the things in our life that don't belong can grow to the point where they are overwhelming and dangerous.  I understood this clearly with the weeds.  Do I understand this clearly in my life?

There are many different examples that illustrate these small troubles growing into large difficulties.  It is easiest to think of where I am today.

Recently, I had a herniated disc and I had surgery to fix it.  It is blessed to be able to speak in the past tense regarding this.  It happened and is daily improving.

Before surgery, I was discussing my symptoms with doctors and specialists.  In the midst of my many conversations with them, I realized that this problem began a long time ago.  It is possible that it began years ago. 

Approximately 5 years ago, my lower back hurt me so badly I could not take large steps or stand up straight.  I did some daily stretching and yoga and managed to make the pain go away.

About 6 months ago, I started to have pain shooting down my leg.  I thought I could make it go away with stretching, massaging or rest.  I succeeded to a point.  It would get better, then it would get worse.  I would give it a lot of attention, see some improvement then give it less attention and it would get worse again.  Eventually there was nothing but medication that would touch the pain.  It was at that point that surgery became my only option.

Now that I am in the healing process and am learning to sit and walk with the best posture, I wonder if having proper posture from the beginning could have helped.  How much of my problem was aggravated because I carried heavy bags on my shoulder?  How much of this could have been avoided if I had identified the little weeds a long time ago and taken care of them before they grew? 

In this case, I didn't really know what the weed was or what I was doing to help it to grow.  I do now and I will keep a watchful eye for future weeds that try to grow up and take over parts of my life.