I can barely get my lawn to grow, yet weeds thrive in the cracked concrete of my driveway. I didn't plant crab grass, yet it grows stronger every year.

Why do weeds survive and indeed thrive without any attention or encouragement whatsoever?

Weeds thrive because it is easy for them to live. They don't need any special nurturing, no water beyond the rain, no fertilizer. It is easy for them to grow and spread.

Grass, flowers, and trees require care and they only thrive with extra water, fertilizer, proper mowing. It take effort for them to grow and flourish.

Our lives have weeds too -- they flourish just like the ones in our yards.

The weeds of life are the habits we have developed over time --their roots are deep--that no longer serve us. It is easy to sleep until noon. It is easy to drink yourself into a stupor. It is easy to spend all of your spare time watching TV. It is easy for dandelions to grow. It is easy for crab grass to thrive.

The grass, flowers, and trees of our lives are our hopes and dreams. It is hard to work on dreams. So many people give up and then the weeds take over.

It is hard to get up early and spend the time writing, creating, doing whatever you were sent to the planet to do.

But, hard does not mean "Impossible." Hard does not mean "Without Reward." Hard does not imply "Waste of Time."

Hard means it takes effort -- some special nurturing, extra water, fertilizer and weekly mowing to make our dreams come true.