Uproot

"Uproot the tangle of my vices." This is a small part of a prayer I say every morning that has a huge impact on me.
When I am out weeding the garden in my backyard in the summer there is ivy that grows through my fence from the neighbors yard. I grab it and yank it as hard as I can hoping to kill it but am not able to every get it up from the roots. That is what it's like when I try to fix all the things in my life that need to be corrected. My addictions, anger, hatred, distrust, lust, envy etc.
For example, I can control whether or not I smoke marijuana which is the ivy poking through the fence.  However the root of the problem is out of my reach. Or it may be something I don't even see. God is the only one that truly knows why we do what we do. Only He can uproot the vice. The sin.
To become the man God wants me to be I have to learn self control and discipline but I also have to "let go and let God".
Here is the full prayer for anyone that is interested. I did not write this prayer. I am sharing it.

"Almighty Father,
Knock down every obstacle and roadblock in my heart.
Uproot the tangle of my vices.
Clear a path of grace through my cluttered life so that Christ your son might approach.
Amen".