3 and 4
"There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks.
Most of the time we are simply not
patient enough,
quiet enough
to pay attention to the story."
-Linda Hogan
A small favorite story...
When my children were little I wanted them to fall in love with how the earth will bloom so kindly in response to your care. I chose roses for the lesson. In the mail came the crisp Jackson & Perkins catalog, and I said, "choose any rose... your rose... and you will plant it... and tend it... and it will become yours..." The crisp pages of vibrant rose photos (you could swear the scent was captured right there in the paper), grew dog-earred and tattered with indecision and the back and forth of the tiny fingers; alas, the decision for the "one" rose became too much to bear for a small child, and so my heart grew to welcome "two each"... "choose two"... the plastic bags came in the mail and they were not what my children expected (what is?). The photo of the rose on the bag matched their wee heart's desires, but the stiff, barren stick jutting out of the top of the bag held such disappointment. And that is precisely where the magic began... in the moment of disappointment where, without knowing, they were a sweet whisper away from what was to begin...
The flower bed was readied with good brown soil and holes were dug (with assistance), and the seeds of anticipation were sown... each day my children visited their roses and peered longingly at the sticks, until one fine day the tiniest of buds appeared, followed by miniature unfurling leaves, and then a small tucked-in ball grew, and from there (by now I imagine you have guessed at the end of this story, for it has a happy ending...)... a rose appeared... not just "any rose"... it was "their rose" through and through. And my child and their treasured rose stood in the shimmering sunshine and simply bloomed magnificently and proudly... together...
8 comments:
Karen! what a wonderful wonderful story! Again, I'm smiling peacefully reading your lines ... I planted carrots this spring with my son. He was ok with the fact they were seeds ... yet an hour after we planted them he was disappointed that it was still soil and no sign of carrots. He had to wait one week to see the first little greenish leaves, then many weeks to see them grow ... And I have to admit I have enjoyed 'the process' with him as if for the first time ... you are such a wonderful mom!!! Sending lots of love!!
Karen :-) Such a powerful way to teach your children that love and care will grow anything even if it started looking like a stick in the beginning. I truly love your words
Love your story, I remember your beautiful garden and the pride you showed as you told the names of your child's rose, they were all so tenderly loved!
So I was inspired;
1 2 You picked up their shoes
3 4 They never shut the door
5 6 Sounds like they picked out sticks
7 8 So you planted them, Great!
9 10 Look at mine, FINALLY a big fat ROSE, M-O-M can we do it again?
With Love for you and those boys!
Karen,
What a lovely story of hope and fulfillment. Just like we are with God. What looks like a bleak situation (just a stick with no life or beauty), but in God's time and in his way--becomes a blessing of love and hope and something we never could have dreamed possible!!
I pray that for each of us today--to see God's handiwork in our lives. The rainbow at the end of the cloudy, rainy day.
Love, Pam xo
Your sweet story (so lovingly told) reminded me a similar experience that I had several summers ago. I was planting up some new beds with herbs and roses and both of my girls (plus one of my dear friends, who was visiting us) picked out roses to plant up. My oldest daughter didn't become a gardening (or a rose) convert, but my youngest daughter plants up her own veg garden every spring.
Thank you for the recommendation for The Shell Seekers. I don't think it is quite right for my purpose, but I know just Pilcher means about the moment that a reader is ready for something meatier. I have read that book, with great pleasure, several times. It was one of my grandmother's absolute all-time favorites!
what a sweet story....and with patience all things come and/or grow....
why does that lesson seem harder as an adult.
thank you so much for your words today on my post.....xo
My heart was touched when I read this story! Such a wonderful way to teach so many stories about life, thorns, patience,etc. May you have a wonderful weekend Karen! See you next week!
I wish I could go back in time and do the same thing for my daughters. Neither one of them enjoy gardening... I tried, but never thought of doing anything like that.
God bless you... you're a wonderful Mother.
Joey
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