The back patio is in bloom. This year the petunias are vibrant and plentiful. I have to plant in pots due to the very poor soil in the back of our home, so some of them are brightly colored too. I had a beautiful rose bush at the beginning of the summer, planted in a huge pot. Then suddenly it died. I was devastated. How would I get to see it’s delicate pink beauty and smell is deep fragrance again?

Near us, is a wonderful landscape and gardening establishment, so I went there to inquire what I might do to resurrect it. With a 25 pound bag of soil guaranteed to make a difference in my trunk, I went home to re-plant. In about 2 weeks, leaves began to sprout and new growth was visible. You can be sure I was thrilled!

One morning when I went out to water, I discovered that something had eaten the new, beautiful leaves! Who? What? The deer cannot make it into the patio. Could it be a skunk or a bunny? Whatever it was, it was a pest! Heartbroken, I actually prayed for the second resurrection of this prized rose bush.

Pests. We have them in our lives all the time, I thought. They are habits that we wish we didn’t have. They are cover-ups or the nervous outcroppings of hurts or wounds we’ve received, perhaps wounds that make us anxious. Some folk bite their fingernails, twirl their hair or tap their feet, smoke or drink too much liquor – all to compensate for the traffic in their minds.

If you have pests in your life, look at your anxiety level and how you developed it. Put up protective chicken wire or dig your life out of the environment that is perpetuating these destructive habits. Keep watering with kindness until the resurrection of the new you takes place and the pests are controlled or destroyed.