Lamium and Boundaries
One of my favorite evergreen perennials is lamium with its variegated leaves and delicate purple flowers, but as many gardeners are quick to warn you, lamium is an invasive plant. If you know how and where to plant an invasive species, you can enjoy them for years to come, but if you plant your beautiful lamium or any other invasive plant in an area without borders, you will lose control! The secret to enjoying these hardy plants is having secure boundaries.
Without borders, invasive plants will quickly overtake an area of the garden, creep into pathways, and eventually invade the lawn. You can try to dig up the roots, but should you happen to leave even the tiniest piece behind, it will regrow.
Invasive plants which spread and are driven by the wind should be avoided at all costs because there is no way to control where the seeds may land, but plants which spread through their roots can be controlled with a well-built barrier. If you love lamium as much as I do, it’s worth your time to find a way to contain it so you can still enjoy its beauty. My lamium grows in a remote corner of my garden in a raised bed which prevents it from invading the rest of my garden area. In this drab and dreary corner, it brings life.
Lamium isn’t a bad plant; it just needs boundaries.
I suspect we all have a bit of lamium in our lives. Things which tend to invade and take over our time and attention. Perhaps its how much we use our phones, indulge in our love of chocolate, blow the budget when shopping, or spend time watching Netflix. None of these are inherently bad, but left to their own devices, they can quicky spread out of control and consume our lives.
I suspect we all have a bit of lamium in our lives.
Even good things need boundaries. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul reminds us while we have freedom in Christ and ‘everything is permissible for me’, not everything is beneficial, and it’s wise not to be mastered by anything. Why? Because, as Peter explains in 2 Peter 3:6, “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”
Is there something that has mastered you and enslaved you? Is there an area in your life where you are struggling to gain control? Perhaps it’s time for some well-placed boundaries. Just this morning, I deleted my Twitter account because I found myself scrolling endlessly and leaving discouraged. It was affecting my soul in a negative way, and I realized the need to guard my mind, heart, and time.
Boundaries are not a punishment from God. In fact, they are a gift! They are meant to keep bad things out and good things in. Without them, we make ourselves vulnerable to all kinds of vices and addictions. But with them, we are able to enjoy the good things life offers, and which God intended us to enjoy.
“Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Romans 6:16-18