reduce, reuse, recycle

This is a recycled post, originally posted on my old blog, July 14, 2006. A recent discussion on Tara's blog has me thinking along these lines again, so I am reposting it in the hopes of contributing to the discussion.

the greenhouse

Back in the day, you know, BC (before children), I liked to garden from scratch. I would start my plants from seed using little flats. I had a whole set-up with growlights and watering systems. It worked well, and even though I lived in a pretty mild climate and could have had an ample growing season by just planting them outside, I took the time to give them a good start.

You see, I knew that once outside, my plants were going to face a number of challenges.
I lived in an apartment/townhouse type building and had a little strip of dirt to call my "yard". It was hard baked clay. I would literally use a hammer and a metal trowel to dig holes for planting. When I started my garden, most people laughed and told me that nothing was going to grow. It took time, lots of time. I dug the holes many times the size I would need them and then filled them with good soil and fertilizer. I would go into the woods and bring back decaying leaf matter and the occasional earthworm and throw them on.
I also knew that the neighbor's dog had a "thing" for being destructive and would pull up anything I planted, chew it, and leave it somewhere to dry and shrivel up. My little plants had to have strong enough roots to handle getting dragged out by their necks and replanted several times. Strong enough roots to go down, down past the starter holes I had made for them, and break the ground on their own.

Nowadays I'm too busy with all of these munchkins to spend that much time babying plants. I still love to garden (and they still need to be hardy, only now it's to survive "helping hands" instead of destructive dogs), but I spend most of my time on my other little "sprouts." I keep them protected too. I carefully keep away any bugs and cold drafts, I make sure that they aren't too wet and get moldy. I give them just the right light. When they get bigger, I'll start taking them out into the real weather to harden them off.

My purpose for those little plants wasn't to keep them under the grow lights forever; in fact, too much a good thing can make the seedlings get weak and leggy. They won't bloom well, or if they do, it will be on an unnatural schedule. I wanted those plants to go outside and be beautiful, I wanted them to bloom and bring about seed and fruit. I wanted the ones I planted the first few years to break the ground and make it easier for those coming behind.

My purpose for keeping my children safe and protected isn't to keep them in the greenhouse forever. I want them to be as strong as possible, straight, unblighted, good roots, ready to dig in and go deep. I want them to break ground, to bear fruit, to be beautiful and useful.
I don't know what my children's roles in live will be. My greatest honor would be for God to call them to fulfill the great mission- the great commission- and for them to "Go ye into all the world". Or perhaps they will be called to be godly business people, or teachers, or professionals. I hope that God sees fit to let them have their own families and they are godly parents. I can't see the future, and so far, God isn't giving me any sneak previews. Therefore, it behooves me to keep them safe and strong and pure, well-prepared in all areas, so that when the time comes, I can give God a young adult who is not scarred or used up, but ready, willing, and able to serve.

I'm growing my children strong so they will be ready for service, not to keep them forever in seclusion.