The garden provides so many illustrations for life and the lessons I learn from my children seem to come around again and again. Today, as I was looking out my bedroom window, I was struck by how much bigger the plants seemed since last evening. I’m not kidding – some of these plants grow by inches overnight! I remembered the tiny seeds we sowed only about a month ago. There is so much potential packed inside that wee little package. I have had the same thoughts while snuggling my sweet newborn babes.
After a short time in the warm, moist, nourishing soil, they push up through the surface with incredible strength. So strong, yet fragile at the same time. And so it is with infants. It boggles my mind that when my babies are still so tiny they quickly become mobile. Crawling and pulling up and exploring and discovering, they can withstand bumps and bruises that would send me howling.
Then those seedlings turn their faces to the warm sun, drink up the rains, spread out their leaves, send their roots deep down for the nutrients of the soil. In the same way, my little crawlers are soon toddling along, turning their faces up toward mine for encouragement and approval, reaching out their arms for a reassuring hug, planting their feet firmly as if to say ‘this is MY turf!’
We now have tomato and pepper plants beginning to blossom. How exciting! A beautiful gift to remind us of the fruit still to come. Each new stage and phase in the development of my little one brings the same gift, the same peek into the fruit of the future. I have loved this journey, watching my children grow. Yes, I am always a bit sad to leave the sweet baby years behind, but it is so fun to see their personalities blossom. There are always surprises. Remember that seed with so much potential? Now I really begin to see just what was packed inside.
I have not forgotten the fact that tending a garden also means dealing with weeds, disease, pests. I think I’ll leave that to another post ;-)
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