A story of Springtime and Planting Seeds
Warm days and sunshine are beginning to make me believe summer will soon be here. With a mini muffin tin that holds the bits of leftover seed from last year. I giddily approach our garden gate. Scraping back the wood chips with my hoe, I find dark earth and wiggly worms and in an instant two little people are squeezing through the gate asking “can I help plant?”
I hesitate. I have carrot seeds which look like nothing more than little specks of dirt, but we set to work. Pushing the bottom of the tin into the dirt, I create divots. Then I poke holes in the dirt and my eager children tuck a sliver of a seed (or many) into each hole. A child grabs the watering can and eagerly drowns the dirt, washing many of the seeds away. I laugh, at least these are only last year’s seeds and I cover the ground with a board to let those tiny seeds germinate.
Carrot seeds need time. A lot of it. For nearly 3 weeks we anticipate little sprouts. Peeking to make sure the ground is moist. Hoping to see little bits of green. But carrot seeds take their time.
Parenting is a lot like planting the Seeds
I’m beginning to see my parenting as planting seeds. I nurture our children with love, and trust the truths we teach our children will sink in, root deeply and begin to grow in their souls. Some seeds are like radishes and pop up in a day or two. Some take their time. And all we can do is strive to keep the conditions right.
I plant seeds over and over. This type of planting doesn’t have to wait for the right temperature or weather conditions. My home becomes the right type of environment as we cultivate and continually work at the small and simple things that increase love and unity.
This becomes a joy, I plant the seeds with each book I read, conversation we have, example I set, and on and on.
Give the Seed room to grow
In her book, “The Read Aloud Family” Sarah Mackenzie quotes Sally Lloyd Jones:
“When you read a story to a child, you’re planting the seed. The whole thing about a seed is that you can’t see it– it’s hidden. Nothing may happen for a very long time, and it’s almost none of your business what’s happening with the seed. Your job is simply to plant it.”
Sally Lloyd Jones
I love this mindset of minding your own business. Too often I want to be measuring my parenting by the growth of the seeds or even feeling frustrated that the plant hasn’t reached maturity yet.
But this brings me to another quote I love,
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant”
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Today, I snuggled my toddler close and I read to him. I don’t always enjoy it, but I do see its value. I’ll keep planting the seeds.
