Upon moving into our home a couple of years ago we decided to relocate a small rosemary plant to a far corner of the backyard where an unsightly stump rested. The location was a lovely sunny spot … perfect for the rosemary to grow beautifully and camouflage the stump.
Unbeknownst to us, the stump was the “sleeping” remains of a Big-Leaf Maple tree. When Spring arrived the next year, the stump came to life with fervor! Shoots sprouted from all around! … and grew with rapid vengeance!
By late July, the little rosemary was being completely choked out by hundreds of aggressive Big-Leaf Maple shoots and stems! The shoots and stems dominated! They suffocated! They claimed all the nutrients and moisture from the soil! They blocked the sunlight from reaching the little rosemary plant.
The Big-Leaf Maple stump was a “toxic” neighbor!
This same type of thing can also happen to us in life.
Throughout our life we find ourselves moving from one stage of life to another, or perhaps transplanted from one location to another. Naturally, we seek to “put down roots” and establish new friendships. But sometimes we might accidently find ourselves in a similar situation as the little rosemary plant.
Unbeknownst to us, we have wound up establishing a “friendship” with a toxic person. Time passes and we begin to notice that we are being “choked out.” We are feeling “suffocated.” The toxic “friend” dominates! Demands! Controls!
We feel the “light” being blocked out of our life.
To be sure all of us have “sinful bents” and issues in our lives we are working on. But sometimes someone else’s “sinful bent” can be downright overwhelming. If someone does not surrender their “sinful bents” to the pruners of God’s Word or the Holy Spirit’s work, their presence can wind up being overbearing. Toxic.
The background photo shows the Big-Leaf Maple mass in late July, only a few months after the “sleeping” stump had come to life just that Spring. As you can see, it had grown taller than a person.
Ironically, the people in the photo alongside the Big-Leaf Maple were filming a story about friendship gone awry.
When it comes to toxic friendships – space is needed!
The little rosemary plant was moved … to a safer space. To a place with room and freedom to grow into the beautiful plant it was meant to be. To a place where it can enjoy sunlight and rain and receive the nutrients it needs.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” – Proverbs 4:23
