Anyone who knows me, knows that I don’t garden. I don’t like the dirt, the bugs, the weeds or fertilizer smell. Even though I don’t like the gardening part of things, I do like what a garden looks like. The variety of colors and plants and the fragrances of flowers bring me great joy,
Every spring, tulips and daffodils pop up around our yard in surprising places because my husband, Ivan, secretly plants bulbs each fall so I will be surprised. He finds great delight in showing his love for me this way and so do I.
Children are like young seeds who turn into tender shoots and can grow into beautiful fully bloomed flowers if nurtured and taken care of.
With the children of divorce, many times, their growth is limited because of the chaos in their families. Where do they belong? Who is going to have the time and patience to nurture them through the trauma? Is anyone helping through the dangerous areas of life and keeping “the weeds” at bay before they overwhelm these children?
Plants left unattended can dry and wither or grow sparsely. Children can do the same. Look around and see the kids who are running the streets. Dry, withered and growing sparely, if at all.
Every day, we plant seeds in our children. We can plant seeds of encouragement or discouragement. Kindness or meanness. Words of value or of no positive value. Positive affirmations or putdowns.
We can water our children with words of love or let them wither without the love they need to flourish. We can fill them with the truth of the Word of God or hope they will just grow spiritually on their own.
Are you planting good in your children/grandchildren? Are you doing everything you can to help them come to full bloom as adults?