It's a WEED HACKER VERN!!!!!

There is nothing I hate more in this world than weed whacking. Not kidding, folks. Weed whacking stresses me out more than I could ever express to you. I dread it with a burning passion. No matter how many times I tell myself that this time it will be different, it is not and I end up flustered and stressed beyond all measure. Seriously. Even in this wonderful time of Thinking Thankfully and positively, the one thing that can pop my positive bubble is the task of weed whacking.

After a long day yesterday, in which my husband was gone from 8:30am til 5:00am this morning, I decided that when I woke up, I'd head outside and do the weed whacking, which hasn't been done in a while. My sidewalks looked like jungle grass growing in the cracks and up over the edging. The yard, although mowed recently, was starting to look real poorly. Out I go, into the garage, fire up the weed whacker and begin my kind deed of the day. Weed whacking. Not so much. Oh my goodness not so much.

First of all, I DESPISE RESTRINGING A WEED WHACKER. There is no easy way to do it, and if you are sitting there thinking that all you do is wrap the string, you are WRONG. There is an art to it I have yet to master. For some reason, I string the sucker and every time it needs to be let out, I have to open the darn compartment and let it out manually. WRONG. My fingers now look like I am turning into Shrek (and I say SHREK because I am feeling ogre-like right now....not all Kermit the Frog sweet green.) I've got dirt and grass remnants on my clothes and I am feeling mighty stressed. After the last bout of opening the compartment, trying to let out string only to have it completely unravel on me, the weed whacker ended up on the ground (and then back on the hook), the string and compartment pieces on the work bench, and I stormed into the house.  Yes, folks, that is what my Sunday morning looked like.

Funny, too, because the only song that has been on repeat in my head is a country song. Lee Brice sings a song Hard to Love. In this song, there is a line that goes something like this: "she's like a Sunday morning, full of grace, full of Jesus."  Well let me tell you, I fit part of this line to a living T this morning: It certainly is Sunday morning and was completely full of Jesus, swearing like a sailor at my LACK of grace when it comes to weed whacking. My poor husband came out to start mowing the grass and it was like he was entering a war zone. Poor guy got it with both barrels blazing. At this particular moment, I am very hard to love, Hard. To. Love.

But then again, aren't we all. Really. We are not easy people to love every single day of our lives. The only exception to this might just be my husband. It is VERY easy to love him. He is patient, kind, always calm, always in tune to my wants and needs, never gives me reason to be mad. HE is easy to love. ME? No way. I know I am hard to love at times. The lyrics to Hard to Love resonate with me on many levels. Never heard the song? Don't know the lyrics? Here, read them....it is a pretty clear picture of me, especially right at this moment:

Hard to Love

I am insensitive, I have a tendency

To pay more attention to the things that I need.

Sometimes I drink too much, sometimes I test your trust,

Sometimes I don't know why you stay with me.

I'm hard to love, hard to love,

No, I don't make it easy,

I couldn't do it if I stood where you stood.

I'm hard to love, hard to love,

You say that you need me,

I don't deserve it but I love that you love me, good.

I am a short fuse, I am a wrecking ball

Crashing into your heart like I do

You're like a Sunday morning, full of grace and full of Jesus

I wish that I could be more like you.

I'm hard to love, hard to love,

No, I don't make it easy,

I couldn't do it if I stood where you stood,

I'm hard to love, hard to love,

You say that you need me,

I don't deserve it but I love that you love me, good.

Love me, good.

Girl, you've given me a million second chances

And I don't ever wanna take you for granted,

I'm just a man, I'm just a man

Hard to love, hard to love,

Oh, I don't make it easy

And I couldn't do it if I stood where you stood.

I'm hard to love, hard to love

And you say that you need me,

I don't deserve it but I love that you love me, good,

You love me, good.

You love me, good.

Yup, for the most part this is me (even though it is from a guy's perspective and I do not test my husband's trust......not at all. Love him more than anything!). I am hard to love and sometimes I don't make it easy. There are many times I think that if I was in my husband's shoes, I'm not sure I could love me like he does. Many times I don't feel like I deserve his love, but he loves me good! And for that I am thankful!

I guess in the long and short of things, I have come to realize that none of us is perfect, none of us have always positive, always perfect days. We have our own little demons we wrestle with (even if they come in the form of the weed whacker.....It's a WEED HACKER, VERN!) and despite all our flaws, there is one person who loves us unconditionally, every single day. Our Lord and Savior.

On this Sunday morning, perhaps I needed that reminder. And I guess I am thankful it came in the form of a weed hacker.