I have fond memories of taking my children for a drive into the countryside to take photos. We never really had a plan. It was always one of those ‘let’s just see what we can discover’ type of adventures. We would just spend time walking through the bush or a garden or along the beach or even at the shops. There was no agenda. No plan. It was just a time to chat, listen and look.
One of my favourite thins to do was to just stop to observe things. Little things. Hidden things. Like spiders weaving their web or interesting patterns on flowers. Insects going about their daily routine or birds feathering a nest. You get the picture. If I could, I would try to take a photo. If not, then we would just watch for a while before moving on. Walking slowly, looking, listening.
On one occasion I was out with one of my daughters when we found a garden in a small town south of Perth. We parked the car and got out to have a wander through. As we walked, we chatted (she chatted, I listened) and we took photos of the things we saw. It is always interesting to me what your kids will talk about if you don’t interrupt their thought process and even more fascinating to observe them making discoveries for themselves, even if you have prompted their focus in a certain direction. As we walked around this particular garden, a few thoughts came to mind.
Lessons from the garden…
From Death to Life – We have all admired beautiful flowers, but you might not have given much attention to dead ones. There is a stark beauty in the final stage of a flowers lifecycle. It reminds me that in death there is life and that new things come from the passing of old things. Seasons change. They must.
Along The Path – Everything is about perspective. Sometimes, you just have pause to sit on the path you are walking, because it gives you a better perspective than just blindly pressing on.
The Training Wire – The sole purpose of a training wire is to provide strength and support to the plant. In this particular case it is a climbing rose. The wire supports the branches as they spread up and out from the body of the plant. They also allow the gardener to train the plant to grow in the way they so desire. As in life, having a little support is a good thing, even necessary.
At its heart, this is what parenting is about. It’s what managing a team is about. It’s what discipleship is about. A rose plant, a grape-vine, a fruit tree; they are all capable of existing and flourishing on their own. It’s what plants do. But if you provide training and guidance, then an already amazing plant has the potential to become magnificent. The plant still does all the work, but you get to help shape it for a life of fruitfulness. There is something about that process, that privilege, that brings me great joy.