We spent a lot of time over the weekend with our fingers in the dirt, trying to get new life off to a good start. As I planted, I mused over the fact that we were trying to bring some 200 plants to life so that they would bring us joy and food and even add some more oxygen to the air. Plants are truly amazing and they really don't ask that much from us (which is a good thing as I tend to be a haphazard gardener). God has designed them to want to grow. 

So as I planted the morning glory seeds for my daughter's morning glory house/museum, I added a couple of spoonfuls of potting soil because the ground I was planting them in wasn't the best. I am hoping with that extra care and the fact that they are weeds, they will persevere. Plus I am being sure to give them water every day that it doesn't rain.  I added fresh potting soil to the flowers I planted along the sidewalk and to the vegetable plants I planted. I watered them and said nice things to them.  And while I tended these little green miracles, I thought of my children. And I thought of the Parable of the Seed that Jesus shared (Luke 8: 4-21).   

Raising our children is basically the same task. It is our job to provide a good, safe environment to be in. To water them with the Word of Life. To speak kindly to them and encourage their growth. To pull out the weeds of the world and root out the thorns of contention. We must add wisdom and conversation and love where the soil is rocky. And we must always pray for them, because ultimately, though we do our best to help them grow strong and wise and in the Word of God, they are in charge of their future.

The better planting and tending we do, the better they will grow, but like wayward seeds, sometimes, they go their own way. So we must trust in God and ask Him to watch over them and do the things that we as parents cannot. We cannot make a flower bloom, we can only provide the conditions. God is the one with the Power. And we must always seek Him out to guide us and our children.

Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity and the means to homeschool our children.