The Seed

This morning after Bible study, I wrote a few notes to myself in my planner-a seed grows in the dark. When we teach our children, we are essentially planting seeds.  That is a good thing.  In the dark, the seed sprouts and a tiny shoot heads up toward the sun.  It’s true.  Scientific fact.  Ask any kid who has tried the bean in a sandwich baggie experiment.  

Proof:  My son is doing car science this year.  I veered off the beaten science path and we are studying pistons, propulsion, engines, horsepower. etc.  He was reading the material and writing down facts, but I wasn’t sure he was getting it.  So, I started making up my own questions and writing them on the whiteboard for him to answer.  Poke.  Prod.  I am a seed checker.  This afternoon I peeked in the dining room and saw all the ‘car’ books I purchased for this science experiment all over the table.

“Hey, I saw you had all the car books out.  What were you doing?”

“Oh, I was just looking at them,”  he replied.

I thought the conversation was over and went up to my room to work on something.  Five minutes later, he knocked on my door, the books in hand to tell me what he had learned.  He spent half an hour teaching me. The seed sprouted.  I plant.  God waters.

Earlier this morning, two of my college man-cub- sons proved they aren’t tiny plants any more, but towering oaks.  One son offered to go pick up some medicine for me and lectured on me on taking care of myself.  Another son, offhandedly spoke of a liberal professor and his dislike for the professor’s politics.  “If you want to get some leftist views for your paper, come to my class.  I can’t stand that stuff!”

All of the years of planting and worrying over my seeds.  Will it grow?  Will they adopt my values?  When they have a heart of compassion?  Will they learn?  Will they be oaks of righteousness?

How many times, I dug up the seeds and examined them and doubted myself as a mom and a homeschool teacher?  It wasn’t me who caused the seeds to sprout.  That was out of my hands.

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was making it grow and [He] gave the increase.-I Corinthians 3:6

Keep planting.  Keep teaching.  Pray over the seed, but don’t dig it up and shake the nutritious soil off and poke it.  That only hurts the plant.  Trust the Lord that the seed is growing.  It may take days, months or years, but it will grow.  You will see the fruit!

Photos by Lori Shaffer (fellow homeschool Mom) from a REAL science experiment