My paternal grandmother had the best-smelling yellow roses on the planet. Everyone thought so. And nearly everyone asked for and received a start for their own planting. My mother was one of those who planted tiny starter roots on the east end of her newly-built home.

When I was little, I paid little attention to the roses. Sure, they smelled amazing when they bloomed, but the blooms only lasted a short time. I was too busy to notice the plant the rest of the year, and it was small and unobtrusive.

Years later when I inherited the home from my father, the rose bush had grown a bit . . . unruly. My husband and I pruned it back and the roses were just as plentiful, vibrant, and fragrant as I remembered.

When we decided to put in sidewalks, we again trimmed the rosebush. By now, it took up the entire eastern wall between the corner and the door and resembled a spiny monster rather than a tame, cultivated plant. We got it into shape, however, poured the sidewalks and thought we’d contained the beast.

Wrong!

Who knew this type of rose could spread beneath the ground? It has resisted its confinement, sending up shoots in sidewalk cracks and between the brickwork wall and the concrete of the sidewalk. Its tendrils overhang the walkway despite two trellises encouraging them to climb upward.

The bush is threatening to bar the door and the walk and has thus become a weed. Weeds, after all, are often merely plants growing in places we don’t want them to grow.

Sometimes the good things we do in life become like my rosebush. We say “yes” to service projects, helping friends and relatives, working at or for church or school events, hosting parties for various reasons or insert project here thinking we’re doing good things – and we are! But if all the good things we’re doing are shoving us off of or diverting us from the path God has asked us to travel, moving us away from God’s will, what will be the result of all our efforts? Will we end up where we are supposed to be, or will we have to answer to the Lord why we failed to accomplish our purpose?

We might need to ask ourselves if it is time to change paths or time to prune so we can stay on the current one? Prayer and time in God’s Word may provide the answer or it may come from the mouth of a friend or the words of a song. Listen closely to the quiet whispers within yourself, for sometimes, the answers are there.

We must remember that while all good things come from God, the gift must never take precedence over the giver. Guarding ourselves from allowing even good things to usurp God’s place as primary is a formidable and constant task.

The cliche “too much of a good thing” applies here as well. As the picture suggests, being surrounded by good things can be smothering. My concrete horse has nearly disappeared amongst the daylilies!

Fellow writers, sometimes I feel as if we use these “good” things as ways to procrastinate. Writing is hard and it means foregoing some, or perhaps even many, of the pursuits we had prior to accepting the call to write. For words to end up on the page, our butt must be in a chair, fingers on the keyboard – or alternatively – lips moving in dictation mode. But whichever method you choose, the story must come out and that takes concentration, time, and dedication.

For those non-writer types, whatever your calling, God expects you to work at it. Perhaps your calling is hospitality. In that case, hold those parties and have people over. But don’t get bogged down in planning so that you never send the invites. Or get sidetracked on Pinterest with all the cool decorations you could make and forget the point of it all.

No matter the path you’re on, be aware of the sweet-smelling things that can bog down your progress and even force you off the road. Stick to your path, prune when needed, and remember to move forward – even when it’s hard. God is with you. Ask for help and He’ll push aside the brambles, clearing your way to move closer to Him and His purpose for your life.

I wish you, my readers, blessings and discernment to see the good things that may be hindering your forward progress as you push toward your God-given purpose.

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See you next time with more ideas on purpose.