March 12, 2010
Taking the Time to Make a Difference
About things that grow up and take control
BY PAUL R. LEINGANG
(Listen to Paul read this column | Weekly podcast)
I’m going out to trim the hedge, I said. It is not what I did.
My target was a tall growth of leafy plants along the property line between our driveway and the backyard of our next-door neighbor. When we first moved to our home, these plants were spindly little things, spreading along the ground.
I learned they are Euonymus. I looked up the word to see how it is spelled., and when I did, I found out there are 170 to 180 different kinds of it. I don’t know what kind is growing along the fence in our backyard, but I do know it thrives in its location.
Over the years, I had trimmed back the leafy parts, and it had responded by growing taller and wider. The result was a hedge-like growth, a few feet thick but about 13 feet tall, and extending about 25 feet along the property line.
The plants grew up along the neighbor’s cedar board fence, first using it for support, then taking over, twisting through it.
My plan was to trim back the growth to just about the height of the fence. That would allow the morning sun to reach our driveway and the afternoon sun to shine into the neighbor’s backyard. That was the plan.
I started to trim the branches, using a sturdy set of loppers. I stacked and tied the branches into bundles. I collected smaller leafy clusters into a lawn bag.
Once past the outer surface of leaves and intertwined branches, I worked my way toward the main stems — which were two to three inches thick, well past the capacity of my favorite pruning loppers.
A chain saw gave me the cutting power necessary to continue the trimming.
When I had the tops cut to fence height, as planned, I realized there were only four Euonymus plants that had provided the entire framework for this wall of leaves.
What I had envisioned was a low hedge, as leafy as the tall one had been. What I ended up with was a bare fence, punctuated by four naked, twisted trunks.
The only reasonable thing to do was to cut everything down to the ground. Half-way measures were not enough.
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Perhaps because this hedge-trimming lesson took place in Lent, I came to the conclusion that it is not possible to cut back just a little on the things that have grown wild in our hearts and souls.
If something that once was good has taken over, perhaps we can trim it back. Too much food, too much drink, too much of anything in excess requires some control.
But if something evil has taken over, it is necessary to remove it entirely. A little discrimination is not acceptable. A little hatred for one race or culture can’t remain.
St. Augustine is frequently recalled as the man who prayed for a half-way measure, “Lord, make me pure but not yet.”
* * *
Where do you find signs of what is lukewarm, neither hot nor cold?
In yourself, or in society, are there half-measures taken?
Take the time to examine the habits that have grown up — both the good and the evil that have become intertwined.
What are the forces and realities that take away the dignity of our brothers and sisters?
Are these realities still intertwined within us? Are these sturdy stalks still beneath our outward appearance? Do we say, Jesus, teach us to pray (but not too well). Father, forgive us our trespasses (but don’t make me stop them). Help me to love one another (but not those people who don’t even speak our language).
* * *
Take the time to examine the halfway measures you have come to accept. If is it necessary, take the time to cut them down to the ground. It may be the only way to make a difference.
Comments are welcome at office@cfm.org or the Christian Family Movement, P.O. Box 925, Evansvsille, IN 47706-0925