Our family’s connection has been greatly enhanced as we spend time in nature, together. I’d like to share some suggestions to inspire you, but first a story…
I’ve often walked along the rows of our grapevines in wonder.
It wasn’t that long ago that these vines were wild and didn’t produce anything.
Five years of care and now they are laden with thousands of pounds of fruit…
A healthy vineyard in SW Michigan requires pruning, mowing, fertilizing, and spraying for fungus. The previous owners hadn’t done any of that. The result was tragic. A few lone grapes per vine come harvest season that the first year we lived here. It’s comedic compared to the bounty it is now. Left to their own, grapevines will grow longer and longer, using all their energy toward extending and not toward fruit production. For there to be a harvest, there needs to be a farmer.
I knew so little when we moved to our homestead. I didn’t even have the understanding to call it a homestead. Sure we had acres of land that we intended to farm, and we knew we wanted some chickens and someday goats. Oh, and we wanted a garden. But we had no idea what kind of adventure we were embarking on. Yet, I should have known. I’m married to a farmer… and I would soon become one too.
But I was overwhelmed. I didn’t want to mess up. I didn’t think I could manage all the demands of a garden and caring for a newborn and two young boys. But an impression came:
Let the land change you.
And so came an unfolding. A relationship. Between me and my homestead. The land was a teacher, a maker, a miraculous provider, and a transformer.
I was the student. Starting as an observer, then a witness, followed by a storyteller, and now a creator.
But it didn’t stop there.
Isn’t it a wonder? I prep the soil and I plant seeds. Then they become so much more. Pumpkins! Tomatoes! Sweet peas! Cucumbers!
We have learned to work with the land. To create through cultivation. The vineyard is a testament to the change that happens when creating together.
I’ve seen this with my children as well.
Transformation happened as I leaned in closer to the tiny flowers with my toddler, raced down hills with my daughter, dug out post holes with my not-so-little son, and fed tiny goats their bottles with my oldest son (who those babies called “maaa!”)
I watched as little humans grow bigger, and the task of raising them feels monumental. Beyond what I can do.
But we don’t do it alone.
I see the land teaching them too.
If we lean in and truly see, it isn’t hard to witness. God’s hand.
His fingerprints are in every sprout. His glory manifested in each birth and hatching.
He is the Teacher. He is the Maker. The Miraculous Provider. The Transformer.
As we lead our children to nature and teach them diligently, we are cultivating.
So they can find God and let Him cultivate a transformation in their hearts. And our hearts too.
Ideas of how parents can lead their children to experiences in nature that will change their hearts.
(That doesn’t require leaving the city and living on a farm)
-Invite your children to go on walks with you in your neighborhood.
-Slow down and notice details and share them. Pay attention when they point out: flowers, buds on the trees, clouds, birds, etc.
-Schedule something in your day that regularly requires you to spend time outside and invite them to come along. Caring for animals is often a motivator for me to get outside because the animals need food and water.
-Check out books about fascinating things in nature and read them together.
-Own animal guides, such as Farm Animal Anatomy and Ocean Animal Anatomy, so your children can reference often with their questions.
-Explore nature trails near you.
-Consider getting a small pet, such as a fish, rabbit, or hermit crab, to give experience observing and caring for creatures.
-Put up a bird feeder somewhere you can watch during your normal routines.
