Harvest time: of kids and carrots and character
In early Spring, when we tore open seed packets of carrots and pumpkins, the golden days of harvest were far away. I like what Ann Voskamp says, “The seeds, they fall into my hand small, jewels. But to look at seeds and believe they will feed us? When…it doesn’t look like near enough. When it looks like less than a handful instead of a plateful, a year full, a life full. When it looks inedible. These seeds, they are food? It looks like a bit of a joke. To hand someone seeds…and ask him to believe in a feast?”
Being mindful of the future feast in a child’s life
When kids are what we seed, it can help to take time from life’s busyness to recapture what our hopes and dreams are for their spiritual life. Here’s a visualization exercise:
- What character traits do you want to see in them?
- What character flaws will be holding them back?
- Where will they turn for their inner guidance system?
- What relationship will they have with a Higher Power?
- How much self-awareness will they possess?
- To whom will they turn for help and support?
Honor the ordinaryness of everyday life
From the earliest years, when adults shape the entire life experience of infants and toddlers, through the child’s growth in self-awareness, conscience, and responsibility, we are modeling and teaching, listening and supporting. But we don’t expect to see any signs of harvest yet.
“A small thing is just a small thing. But faithfulness in small things is a very great thing.” (A. Carmichael)
“What would happen today if we saw all the not-enough, too-little in a child’s life to be but a seed? asks Ann Voskamp. “Small somethings growing into a more wonderful future. Believe it. All feasts began as seeds.”
Conversation starters for older children
- What do you want your life harvest to be?
- How do you know if you’re planting the right seeds to get you that harvest?
- Agree or disagree (and why): Some people think they’ll only get a harvest if they are successful or special.
- Someone said: “When you think about it—we cannot not produce a harvest.” What do you think that means?
Tweetable: A visualization exercise here clarifies the hopes and dreams we hold for a kid’s solid inner life. Click to Tweet
A mother describes the morning her daughter held the camera, moving through the house clicking at everything she saw.
It’s the vantage point. At 36 inches, her angle is unfamiliar to me and utterly captivating–the study ceiling arches like a dome, her bed a floating barge. The stairs plunge like a gorge. She’s Alice in Wonderland, all the world grown Everest-like around and above her.” (Ann Voskamp)