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I was thinking about plants, soil, and blooms yesterday. There is something about this time of year that turns nearly everyone into a budding horticulturist. Of course, for me, mine morphed into thoughts of people, life, and the fruit from our lives.
Each of us is like a plant. We have roots, leaves, soil, and prayefully, blooms. Now God has created each of us to fill some role in this world and because of that, He didn’t create all dasies, or hyacinths, or even flowers! Some of us are trees while others are grasses or ornamentals. And all of those different plants have different soil needs. Some need more sand while others need to be kept moist. Some are inclined to alkaline while others… yes, it’s predictable isnt’ it… are acidic lovers.
Think of what happens when an acid loving azalea marries a gardenia. Suddenly two very different needs must be met in the same ’soil’. For the azalea to demand that the soil be amended to suit only him would be just as thoughtless as it would be for the gardenia to insist on ‘her way or no way’. The same is true, of course, for their children. While they all have similar needs that can be met together others must be tailored to the plant that God created. All plants need air, water, soil, and nutrients.
This is, of course, one reason for people to be wise in whom they marry. Some people are simply too different to make a good spouse no matter how much they seem to ‘fit together’. Then again, some plants look sickly and limp in their current soil. With some careful transplanting, allowing for some soil shock, plants can finally thrive and flourish if given a second chance in a healthier environment. I’ve seen marriages like this. The husband or wife seem stifled in the home they grew up in but once married and settled into their new home, they blossom as never before.
Speaking of blossoming, it is quite common for healthy plants to look beautiful but never bloom. They seem healthy enough, the plant is strong, it’s weathered years of changes and always looks gorgeous but if a rosebush is just another green bush, it isn’t very satisfying. You wanted a rosebush, not a shrub. However, if put through a rigorous pruning process we often discover the blooms were there waiting to burst forth once excess foilage is removed.
And young tender plants often require pinching. The baby plants aren’t allowed to bloom at first in order to produce a stronger and more lovely fragrant flower later. It sounds much like our daughters doesn’t it? We restrict the tendency to early relationships with the opposite sex in order to save their blossoming for such a time as they can truly grow and flourish as God intended.
I can’t seem to stop finding ways to apply this. Our children’s educational needs, personal growth needs, and interrelational needs. I certainly do not want to give the impression that I believe God has so over specialized each of us that we must recreate a specific world for each of our children.. That would be both foolish for us and for them.
There is a popular saying, “Bloom where you are planted.” This is an excellent exercise in contentment. However if it is impossible, due to soil, light, or other defiiencies, for us to bloom where we were planted, woudln’t it be wise for us to at least amend our soil so that we can!
Isn’t it amazing that Jesus referred to us as seeds sown and our actions as fruit? It truly does fit the analogy. I never cease to be amazed at the myriad of ways we can describe the life our Lord has given us.
There is a trend I’ve noticed on the message boards I’m on. This trend spans not only conservative Christians who are proponents of first time obedience but also those who subscribe to time-out (naughty place) methods and those who are just trying to survive life with children and have no consistent discipline in the home at all.
The trend? I can guess, almost without fail, those women who have children who are generally compliant/obedient and those who always buck the system. If the board owner or moderators address an issue with one of the members, and they respect the authority of those in charge, you can bet that as a general rule, their children are obedient.
However, if they consistently question the decision or argue with the ‘powers that be’, you can be assured that sometime in the next few weeks there will be a post about how their child fights every request, demand, or idea. They are the moms that repeatedly post about their child who won’t eat, who won’t do their school work, who won’t get up in the morning or stay in bed at night. These moms are the ones with argumentative children who have a million reasons why they shouldnt’ have to do xyz and who will say completly seriously, “But you said I couldn’t have the chocolate chip cookies, these are molasses.
This realization has made me rethink so much of my life. If I am bothered by behavior of my own children whether it be their spending, their relationship with the Lord, their work ethic, or whatever, I need to look at myself first. I have a suspicion I can find the source of their lousy attitude. Unfortunately that source stares back at me in the mirror. I’d better be the person I want to rear.
