The current sermon series at my church these past five weeks has been – “Weeds in my garden.” I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about the subject matter from this title. So is it simply coincidence or is it God’s sense of humor that during this time of weekly sermons about “weeds” I received a very official letter from my HOA about “weeds in my garden.” (well, more accurately, weeds in my yard)

Actually, all their letters are quite formal and official, always very grave and intimidating. There are no friendly or casual letters from my HOA, they don’t exist. HOAs don’t write to you just to let you know that they like what you’ve done with the place, or that they’ve noticed your new trim or bushes or whatever and just wanted to let you know how much they like it. They don’t write to tell you they’re glad you moved in, or to ask what they can do for you.

No, they only write when the circumstances are dire because you are in violation of some aspect of the covenant that you as a homeowner have with the HOA. There are many areas covered in this covenant, creating the possibility of receiving numerous foreboding letters detailing one’s dereliction in detail and outlining the required course of action one must now embark upon in a timely manner in order to avoid further such delightful correspondence from the HOA.

Just exactly what and how dire was my most recent dereliction? (yes, there have been other letters in the past) Well, in the words of the aforementioned thoroughly formal and foreboding correspondence – “Your turf contains excessive weed growth and is in need of treatment. . . . Compliance issue should be resolved within 15 days from the date of this letter.” Now they did sign my letter “Warm regards,” so I suppose that counts for something, right? They could have signed it “cool regards” or “cold regards” or “hostile regards” or even “no regards” – the last being the worst insult of all by virtue of the fact they extend to me no regards at all.

So this letter alerted me to my dire situation and impending doom – I had “turf containing excessive weed growth.” Translation – there are (actually were) a few dandelions in my yard. Apparently, dandelions on the premises is a dealbreaker, a violation of the sacred HOA covenant. My last lawn treatment must not have killed them all, hence the very formal and foreboding correspondence which I received.

You will be relieved to know, dear readers, that I called my lawn treatment provider in a very timely manner and scheduled an unscheduled additional treatment aimed at correcting this breach of my covenant with the HOA. I must confess, the letter did cause me a moment or two of PTSD, though. You see, last year about this time I received a similar letter from my HOA, also sent with the same “warm regards”, informing me that my grass was over four inches high and therefore in violation of HOA guidelines, or more accurately, HOA regulations.

This caused me to picture some anonymous, masked, hooded individual down on hands and knees in the dark of night, measuring my grass with a ruler. Or was this just an estimate of grass growth from a drive by observation? It seemed awfully precise, hence my visual of a ruler being used in the determination of whether or not an infraction or a breach of covenant had indeed occurred. So you can understand how this current letter caused me to experience a flashback to last year’s letter.

It does give one the feeling of being watched and not only of being watched but of being judged. In addition, this letter also caused me confusion because my neighbors, who had substantially more dandelions adorning their yard at the time I received said letter, did not receive such a letter. This could lead me to feelings of paranoia and anxiety as I anticipate future letters and feel unduly singled out. But perspective is everything. Perhaps the HOA is really my friend. After all, they are doing this for my own good and for the good of the community. I will be glad they “encouraged” me to keep up my property when I wish to sell my home and property values are good because they have held all of us accountable to the covenant we agreed to in the first place.

If I think of them as my foe, then they are a necessary foe, forcing me to be better, to hold myself to a higher standard. If I think of them as my friend, what they have to say may at times be unwanted input, something I don’t want to hear (a letter I don’t want to receive) but it is for my ultimate good and benefit. I can think of them as a friend who has my best interests at heart. They are looking out for me and when they see me going wrong or doing wrong (or in violation of our friend agreement in any way) they let me know via vaguely threatening legal letters. And in the end, I will be the better for it.

Parents discipline their children (though I doubt they send them formal and foreboding letters – they do it face to face). Likewise, I read in Hebrews –

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son. . . . For what son is not disciplined by his father? . . . Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:5-11)

and in Proverbs I read this –

“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.” (Proverbs 3:11-12)

Could it be my HOA loves me? Does my HOA delight in me? Were those very legal letters I’ve been getting actually love letters from my HOA? Who knew? Perhaps their regards really were “warm” after all, now that I realize they just have my best interests at heart. My HOA just wants my home property to be all that it can be.

From now on I will think of my HOA as benevolently watching over me, just like my Heavenly Father. And I know my Heavenly Father’s intentions towards me are always good because He is good and because He says so. I have His word on the matter.

” ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ ” (Jeremiah 29:11)

hopefully my HOA feels the same way about me!?

sincerely, Grace Day