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Have
you ever grown gladiolas?
And watched as the tall
stalks quickly grew
And put on their
glory?
Then
let them wither and die, only to
Sprout up next year and again reach for
the sky?
But
have you watched what happens the next
year?
A
number of small shoots spring up
alongside, but put on
Few flowers… and the parent
bulb is spindly…
The
parent, when fully grown and flowered,
Gives birth to the new crop
of children.
But
unless the children are carefully dug
up,
Their roots carefully pulled
apart from the parent, and
Planted into
their own ground, with
Sufficient space and light and water and
nourishment,
The children, like the
parent, become weak and spindly.
The
Master Gardner has so designed the
gladiola, and us.
Wise
parents slowly, carefully, tenderly,
unwrap the
Physical and emotional
tentacles that are tightly wrapped
around us
By our children,
preparing them to be
Transplanted into their own space, in
the proper time,
So they may flourish on
their own, to grow to their
Full potential
in Christ Jesus.
Parents dare not hold on too tightly,
lest
Both we and our children
become weak and spindly,
Unable to reach
our full potential.
Yes,
there will be disease, insects, winds,
drought,
And other people that may
damage our precious offspring
Yes,
they may still crave nourishment… and
need water.
Tender care by wise parents
will result in knowing when to
Withhold the water, that the child’s
roots may reach down
To the alternative source,
the Living Water underneath,
to
form strong roots and reaches the
nutrients,
That
can withstand their own storm winds and
time,
To become strong enough
support their own flowers and bulbs.
A
kind word. A tender hug. An open
door. The freedom
To choose, to seek, to grow,
to risk and suffer.
Wise
parents prepare their children, giving
them
More freedom as they
undertake more responsibility,
more space and
nourishment and light
To be
themselves,
To be all that the Creator
has designed them to be.
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