Gardening

As we were gardening this afternoon I was not my cool, keep it together self as I have been learning to be.  Kids seemed to just do everything that they could to test me while I was trying to let them be 'kids'.  Well we came to a clash leading to the point of looking within myself.  Parenting is serious business in that it challenges us! Should it not just be that it challenges the kids as we are trying to teach them?!

As I was clearing, raking and prepping the garden box for this spring’s vegetables I was amazed to see there were rocks still in the ground.  Despite these rocks making the soil not perfect condition for vegetables to grow we had tomatoes, carrots, rosemary and basil.  With our kids we found such delight in our homegrown produce that rocks were not even a thought.  Seeing how the soil was imperfect just made our vegetables more impressive because they flourished.  I know that what I have planted will have the same chance of growing and overcoming any rocks as we water and nurture our garden.

As I sit here in bed I cannot stop thinking of how despite the rocks we have within ourselves as parents our kids will grow to be exceptional.  I have said it many times that the most important thing to have in parenting is love.  Love is the water, the nutrient that will grow our children regardless of our shortcomings.  However, as I did today I removed some of these rocks that surfaced, so we must remove our rocks that surface in parenting.
 

In looking within to just admit that we need to adjust who we are yet again requires muscles, strength.  For me I receive that strength from God who said that in my weakness He would be strong.  Boy, do we ever become weak during times of parenting as we are constantly repeating simple instructions!  Let’s allow God’s love and acceptance for us grow you and me into the great parent He knows we are!  Sorry to say it but it is true and bears repeating, there are seasons that come and go.  In these seasons of gardening there is a stirring of soil as it is being prepared for the crop of that season giving opportunity to remove any rocks.  We go through seasons as well and have opportunities for removing rocks from our life too. Parenting then lends for us adults to really improve ourselves, challenge ourselves as ultimately we just want to be the best parent for our kids....