The Long Season of Parenting

Posted by Tammy | 0 comments

Late summer we were blessed to receive a gardening gift from a neighbor who has a farming business where his main home is located. He handed me a container filled with large bulbs of garlic and explained how they would need to be planted in the fall in order to produce a wonderful crop a year later. Having never planted garlic before, I was very excited! This treasure – yes, we LOVE garlic! – was placed in a cool dry place as we enjoyed an unusually warm and sunny September which extended our gardening season. Finally October arrived with snow to remind us the fall was quickly shortening, so the carrots were canned and the rest of the garden was cleaned out leaving us the perfect gardening spot for planting our garlic.

My youngest and I took our hoes and shovels out to the garden to prepare the soil as we marked out our first row about four to six inches deep for planting. Carefully I took apart several bulbs of garlic with their large cloves and showed her exactly how to place them into the dirt using her little hand to mark the distance between each clove. We covered the row halfway, tossed a little fertilizer on, covered the row the rest of the way gently patting down the soil. Around the little garlic patch went an old wire border fence that would protect this area from my husband the tiller.

When we were all done, my little girl looked up at me and asked when the garlic would be ready to eat. She had such a puzzled look on her face when I told her that we’d be pulling the garlic next fall at the end of the gardening season. Next fall? She thought they’d be ready yet this fall as the “seeds” were so big compared to those tiny seeds we planted in the spring for our vegetables. I opened up one of the unused bulbs of garlic and showed her the thick stem in the center that needed to be formed over the year to give the plant strength and allow it healthy growth. A gardening lesson in patience, perhaps.

A gardening lesson in parenting, indeed!

Parenting isn’t something that happens quickly. When God carefully plants children into our life, as parents we carefully tend them through all their growing years. We water, feed, and cloth them as we take care of their daily needs. Our prayers are for God’s hedge of protection around them as harmful things abound. Regular weeding out of questionable character traits and bad habits is a necessity. God’s “Son”shine is given in regular doses to firmly establish the foundation and center of their lives as God’s Word is not only read and talked about, but encouraged to be applied in their lives as their paths begin taking them further from our gardens. And in God’s perfect timing as they mature into young adults, they are harvested from our gardens to serve God’s purposes wherever He may take them.

Ahhhhh, I remember the early days of parenting thinking that someday all the little shoots about me would be all grown up, leave my garden in the timing God has chosen, and my job would be done. God must have chuckled at my foolishness for He knows parenting never ends. Once a parent, always a parent as adult children continue to seek encouragement, guidance, and prayer support over the years. Oh, and recipes! They are always calling home seeking mom’s recipes!

Parenting isn’t something that happens quickly, therefore to become a hearty gardener for a lifetime it is important to apply many of the same care giving basics into your own life as you have into your child’s life. Make healthy food choices, exercise regularly even if all you can squeeze in is a daily walk a few times up and down the driveway, drink adequate water to stay well hydrated, get sufficient sleep with a power nap when necessary, and above all spend time soaking in God’s Word as well as worshiping Him both as a parent and as a family, Following these essential basics will help your endurance and reduce your stress when going through the sacrificial times of parenting of which there are many. And above all, remember that the ultimate parent, your Heavenly Father, is only a whispered prayer away no matter what is happening in your garden and for me that really is the heart of the matter!

Married in 1980 and still living in the same house in a woodsy rural setting, Tammy’s homeschooling journey began in the fall of 1987 when her oldest turned six years old. As rather new believers professing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, homeschooling was a way to live out the principles found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Through all the challenges of life Tammy has stayed the course growing to a family with nine children who presently range from preschool age to college graduates married with children. Her role has transitioned from learning everything she could about homeschooling to becoming an encourager to others coming along the way. Please visit Tammy at Garden Glimpses.