Kudzu and camouflage

Sunday I did an unusual thing.  I did not listen to a novel via a Bluetooth or earbud – all day.  I could hardly believe my phone was on my lap and a nook tablet with earbud within reach from 7:00 AM until 9:00 PM and I did not once start a story.  We drove nearly 600 miles in our RV and I did not listen to even one minute of a story. I cannot say I did not use the technology as I did speak with our daughter for 20 minutes.
 
So, what does it have to do with kudzu?  When I am not concentrating on whether Mel’s mother murdered a man or if Decker has arrested the real perpetrator, I am free to notice stuff.  Early in the morning, I noticed kudzu camouflaging the trees along the roadside.  For several miles the road was flanked by many varieties of evergreen mixed with a smattering of deciduous trees giving color and texture to the scenery.  Then, all the trees were covered with a blanket of vines masking the definition of the supporting trees.  On and off all day I pondered kudzu remembering I heard from some expert sometime kudzu is an invasive worthless vine.  It kills all vegetation as it strangles their growth by depriving it of sunlight and sucking up all the nutrients from the soil. 
 
Not wanting to misrepresent kudzu, I looked it up on my Funk and Google.  (For those of you too young to remember Funk and Wagnalls, Laugh In and Carnac, the Magnificent, read all about it on the internet!)    
 
Wikipedia says: ‘They [kudzu] are climbing, coiling, and trailing perennial vines native to much of eastern Asia, Southeast Asia, and some Pacific islands….Where these plants are naturalized, they can be invasive and are considered noxious weeds. The plant climbs over trees or shrubs and grows so rapidly that it kills them by heavy shading. The plant is edible, but often sprayed with herbicides.’  Hmmm..close to my original understanding.  But what is this ‘edible’ part?  Further reading revealed the following list of uses along with details:  Soil improvement and preservation, Animal feed, Basketry, Phytochemicals and uses, Food and beverages, and Other uses.  An impressive list of good derived from something rumored to be bad.  
 
My original thought relating kudzu to my life is sometimes the veneer kills the truth.  For example, when I concentrate on the appearance of worship, I miss the truth of worship.  When I see the laser lights, stage fog, lead guitar and the entertaining drummer, my true worship is hindered.  I hear the pitchy harmony of the singers, see the miscue of projected words, wonder what creates the fog and why it gives me a slight allergic reaction, and get totally involved watching the drummer.  These distractions eventually strangle my worship much as the kudzu strangles its supporting trees.
 
Just as focusing on the harm caused by out-of-control kudzu masks the benefits derived from it, focusing on the individual elements of contemporary worship masks the awe and reverence displayed:  the truth of the words, the sincerity of the singers, the delight of the young drummer, the commitment of the technology team and the ethereal atmosphere created by the fog.
 
So, put down the phone, remove the earbuds, clear your mind, watch the scenery and discover something hidden!  Identify your favorite distractions, determine beforehand to ignore them, and meet God in worship!