Sometimes I exceedingly obsess over various things that really aren’t that big of a deal. Some have even occasionally said over the years that I have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Lately, my yard seems to be one of those OCD things that has had my complete and undivided attention, and it took a neighbor walking by the other day to remind me that I need to stop sweating the small stuff.
I guarantee you’d probably have a good laugh if you ever saw me working in my yard. In the spring, I seed it over and over again to fill in even the smallest of bare spots. During the summer, I often cut and edge it several times a week as well as watering it several times a day. During the fall, I have even been known to pick up the leaves as soon as they land in the yard. The fact is I’m so overly meticulous with my lawn that I have even used a shop vacuum to suck up any random debris that’s ever on it. Looking at this as I write about it, I can clearly see how OCD these behaviors are. But there’s a deeper lesson that God showed me with it and it’s one that was hard not to notice. It dealt with the local lawn care company I utilize to do the fertilization, weed, and grub control.
I contacted this company last week and let them know that I didn’t want them to come out and do any more treatments until I spoke with the guy in charge of doing my lawn care. That decision was due to the large amount of new grass still coming up. Rule number one in good lawn care is that you don’t put any chemicals down on new seedlings until they are fully-grown and have been cut a few times. The company acknowledged this and promised I’d get a call before any more treatments would take place. Little did I know though that God had another plan and it was one that would really highlight how much I still do sweat the small stuff?
It started when I came home in the middle of last week. As I pulled into my driveway, I noticed the small sign in my yard indicating that chemicals had been put down. Less than 48 hours later, a large section of my grass in the front yard was completely dead and totally brown. It was very obvious given how much of a lush green and manicured lawn I normally have. How did I react to this? I’m not proud of it, but I flipped out. First on my partner, even though none of it was his fault, then on the worker who placed those chemicals down, and finally with the owner of the company itself. What I mean by flipping out is that I became overly dramatic about this burnt grass. If you had heard me, you would have thought my world was coming to an end. When one of my neighbors walked by and saw me completely in OCD mode over it, she said rather bluntly “Don’t sweat the small stuff!” She then went on to say she learned that lesson as she watched her husband wither away and die over the course of five years due to a disease.
She was right, as my yard is truly not that big of a deal, as compared to so many other things that have a lot more depth and weight in life. Last week, three people I knew tragically died and my yard became my OCD escape from dealing with part of it on some level. While that obsession was definitely a much better escape than the many toxic addictions I once would have done over events such as this, the fact is it was still an escape and escapes aren’t healthy either. I can see now that my avoidance of fully feeling the pain of those deaths is what led me to sweating the small stuff like my burnt yard.
I know I need to continue working on this part of me, as it’s a negative behavior that’s plagued me much of my life. I’m very grateful that God spoke to me through my neighbor because her message truly helped me to see this. The fact is I know that God was trying to tell me to stop sweating the small stuff this past week. I’m just glad my eyes were open enough to acknowledge it and make a little progress in learning this invaluable lesson.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
I like the valuable info you provide in your articles. I’ll bookmark your weblog and check again here frequently. I’m quite sure I will learn lots of new stuff right here! Best of luck for the next!