Uprooted

Heavy footsteps sounded from behind Skyla, and she turned to see Captain
Solenar approaching. He gave her a nod, his jaw set in a grim line.

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“All of our work… ” Skyla’s voice cracked as she looked out over the
landscape in front of her. It had taken the group of extraterrestrial
experts years to develop the beautiful Crimson Iris, but even before that,
the captain had spent decades researching. It was his life’s work, and it
had taken the team much planning and sacrifice to safely transplant the
delicate flower onto the Kyrgythinian planet. Finally, they had planted a
great crop of irises. But now, no flowers could be seen under the Bushvine
Thistle Plant that was sweeping across the planet. Skyla knew that Dr.
Nocscale had to be the one who had wreaked havoc. As the universe’s most
notorious botanical terrorist, he made it his quest to destroy every
beautiful creation Captain Solenar had made.

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Skyla reached down to tear a thistle plant out of the lush ground and
winced as thorns tore her skin. “It will take years to weed all this out…
” She grimaced. “And even if we try, we have no guarantee that we will
eradicate all the invasive thistle seeds from the planet.”

Captain Solenar gently motioned toward the thistle that was still in her
hand. She held it up, and was surprised to see a young Crimson Iris that
had been uprooted with the thistle. “We can’t weed out these noxious
plants,” he said, “or it will destroy all of our work forever.”

.

“Then there is no hope.” Skyla felt tears of frustration well in her
lavender-colored eyes.

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“Look,” the captain’s deep voice directed. He pointed to the roots of the
iris, and Skyla noticed the flower’s roots were long and strong, while the
weed’s roots remained shallow. “If the flowers reach toward the water
beneath the ground, they will survive. Then, when harvest season comes, we
will gather all the plants together. We will harvest the seeds of the Iris,
and burn the thistle.”

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“That’s a lot of work,” Skyla reminded him.

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“If we can save just one iris…” Captain Solenar cradled the uprooted
flower in his hand. “Then it will be worth the effort.” • Lily Walsh

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• Today’s story is based on a parable Jesus told in Matthew 13. Why do you
think it’s significant that the good crop and the weeds had to grow
together?

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“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his
field.” Matthew 13:24b (NLT)

Read Verses:

Matt.13.24-Matt.13.30|Matt.13.36-Matt.13.43