Redshank

This redshank flower (sometimes called willow weed) I found growing in a field at Bolton by Bowland while looking for medieval cross remains. Although an attractive and unusual flower, it is considered a pest by farmers, who find it growing among their crops. GardenOrganic states:

Redshank occurs in cereals and other arable crops but it is not associated with a particular crop and is regarded as a follower of man.

The seeds remain in the ground and have been known to germinate after forty-five years of dormancy. This little plant really is a picture of human sin. Though we sow our good intentions, our crop is compromised by innocuous invaders which follow us wherever we go. Our sinful natures, though hardly dormant, can sprout evils from previous generations. Our problems are not caused by our education, or race, or diet: they are caused by our very essence- by our human hearts.

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26