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b'Heavy footsteps sounded from behind Skyla, and she turned to see Captain\\nSolenar approaching. He gave her a nod, his jaw set in a grim line.\\n.\\n\\u201cAll of our work\\u2026 \\u201d Skyla\\u2019s voice cracked as she looked out over the\\nlandscape in front of her. It had taken the group of extraterrestrial\\nexperts years to develop the beautiful Crimson Iris, but even before that,\\nthe captain had spent decades researching. It was his life\\u2019s work, and it\\nhad taken the team much planning and sacrifice to safely transplant the\\ndelicate flower onto the Kyrgythinian planet. Finally, they had planted a\\ngreat crop of irises. But now, no flowers could be seen under the Bushvine\\nThistle Plant that was sweeping across the planet. Skyla knew that Dr.\\nNocscale had to be the one who had wreaked havoc. As the universe\\u2019s most\\nnotorious botanical terrorist, he made it his quest to destroy every\\nbeautiful creation Captain Solenar had made.\\n.\\nSkyla reached down to tear a thistle plant out of the lush ground and\\nwinced as thorns tore her skin. \\u201cIt will take years to weed all this out\\u2026\\n\\u201d She grimaced. \\u201cAnd even if we try, we have no guarantee that we will\\neradicate all the invasive thistle seeds from the planet.\\u201d\\nCaptain Solenar gently motioned toward the thistle that was still in her\\nhand. She held it up, and was surprised to see a young Crimson Iris that\\nhad been uprooted with the thistle. \\u201cWe can\\u2019t weed out these noxious\\nplants,\\u201d he said, \\u201cor it will destroy all of our work forever.\\u201d\\n.\\n\\u201cThen there is no hope.\\u201d Skyla felt tears of frustration well in her\\nlavender-colored eyes.\\n.\\n\\u201cLook,\\u201d the captain\\u2019s deep voice directed. He pointed to the roots of the\\niris, and Skyla noticed the flower\\u2019s roots were long and strong, while the\\nweed\\u2019s roots remained shallow. \\u201cIf the flowers reach toward the water\\nbeneath the ground, they will survive. Then, when harvest season comes, we\\nwill gather all the plants together. We will harvest the seeds of the Iris,\\nand burn the thistle.\\u201d\\n.\\n\\u201cThat\\u2019s a lot of work,\\u201d Skyla reminded him.\\n.\\n\\u201cIf we can save just one iris\\u2026\\u201d Captain Solenar cradled the uprooted\\nflower in his hand. \\u201cThen it will be worth the effort.\\u201d \\u2022 Lily Walsh\\n.\\n\\u2022 Today\\u2019s story is based on a parable Jesus told in Matthew 13. Why do you\\nthink it\\u2019s significant that the good crop and the weeds had to grow\\ntogether? \\n.\\n\\u201cThe Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his\\nfield.\\u201d Matthew 13:24b (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nMatt.13.24-Matt.13.30|Matt.13.36-Matt.13.43'