Life’s a garden: In my teacher training I was taught that we plant seeds in children’s lives; we provide the correct conditions for growth; we watch, tend and nurture young plants; knowledge, skills and understanding grow to maturity… Seeing children as flowers may be appropriate; calling them vegetables isn’t!
Grand-daughter Hannah has recently completed her A-level studies. Her proud parents watched as she received the English award at the Lowestoft 6th Form awards ceremony last night. Proud grandparents heard about it later.
Hannah’s garden of life… many years of caring and nurturing… teachers, family, Hannah’s hard work… flowers and fruit of knowledge, skills and understanding recognised and celebrated.
The Roses of Success: Last week we saw a wonderful children’s stage production of ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ at Snape Maltings. The ‘Co-op Juniors’ from Ipswich were excellent.
…Grandpa Potts is in the Vulgarian inventors’ workshop with other imprisoned inventors. Together they sing: ‘From the ashes of disaster grow the roses of success!’ The inventors give Louis Pasteur, Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell as examples… This thought gave Grandpa Potts hope.
A beautiful, productive garden of life doesn’t come easily. Mistakes are made, weeds need removing, the right thing grows in the wrong place… patience, care, determination… This year’s disasters become next year’s successes.
Jesus talked about pruning: Cutting dead wood, unproductive growth, off a vine will produce more grapes. If I prune my roses, cut them back hard at the right time, then the flowers will be even more beautiful and prolific.
For my life’s garden to show healthy growth I need to inspect, evaluate and engage with metaphorical secateurs – carefully, but sometimes with significant cut-back.
St Paul talked about growing fruit: He said that if we ‘live by the Spirit’ then fruit will grow in the garden of our lives… ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…’
I pray for such a productive harvest in my life’s garden – and Hannah’s too.
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