The Flowers that Grow in my Garden of Life

Sitting in my garden today, surrounded by the scent and sight of glorious spring flowers, I started thinking about the attributes of all my children. Yes, they all came from me and my husband. Yes, they all share something of a family resemblance. But, boy, are they all different!! It occurred to me how they are all like flowers in my garden of life.

I have been gardening for quite a few years, and I have come to know that a plant which will become invasive on the south side of the house may slow down and add a little "umph" to a boring bed on the northwest side of the house. The hot, burning sun that lavender adores, will bake a delicate fern. I believe it is the same with our children. What is nurturing to one, may be suffocating to another! What one simply scoffs at will wilt the heart of his brother.

My oldest is sort of my "pride." Our first child. A son. Tall--just short of 6 feet at 15. Lean and muscular, the girls he knows keep our phone ringing around the clock. But he is stubborn and sometimes hard to manage over the very least things. He is very headstrong and my prayers follow him around, pleading silently that he apply his passions to a noble purpose some day. In my garden of life, he is the rose. The one that is beautiful and outstanding, but temperamental, thorny, and hard to reach.

My second son is a gentle giant. He is the biggest in sheer weight, but kind and soft spoken. He watches me when I am sad and hovers close by, worried that I might shed one tear too many. He struggles with things that are lofty and complicated, but he is the obedient one. He brings joy to his mother. He is always in my heart and I yearn that he will not be hurt some day by his own gentle nature. May he be protected. In the garden that is my life, he is my old-fashioned garden phlox. Not the newly crossed variety of phlox, but the old, pale-pink garden phlox that my great-grandmother had. It grows easily and readily and makes a beautiful show when other things have refused to bloom. It comforts.

My third son is the cute one. He has a face that somehow you can't help looking at, even though he is shy and would rather you didn't look at him. His long eyelashes demand that you look at his eyes when he speaks. Slender, neat, and self-conscious, he contributes to things from just outside the mainstream. He is gifted in music, and his hands tap out delightful notes on the piano without even trying. In my garden of life, he is my Johnny jump-up. A neat little face painted on bright petals, blooming where he was not planted, he's a joy to see! He has a bright countenance that brings music to my heart.

My fourth child is my girl! A delightful little sprite weaving tenderness and a nurturing spirit through the tapestry of boys who came before her. Her brothers bear her up and protect her. She rides on their backs and darts in and out of the games they play, trying to keep up with and outdo them. Her smile lights up the room and coaxes affectionate gestures from those who love her. In my garden, she is the morning glory. She is everywhere. Intertwined with all the other plants and weaving in and out, the morning glory blooms in the midst of all that is around it.

My children, my life, my heart! They are my true garden--the most important task at hand. These four little precious beings, who I have the pleasure to care for, all need different things to grow and bloom.

My rose needs to be left alone sometimes just as much as my morning glory needs affection. My garden phlox brings a sweet savor when life has been hard, and my Johnny jump-up reminds me to be happy and partake of life in an easy-going way!

I am glad for what I have been given to tend. May I have the grace to know what they each need. May I have the strength to keep working at it. May I have the patience to bear the struggles. May I have the heart to love the labor that surely it will take to get them all grown!

You may reproduce the above article on your website with the following byline:
Lynn Wilson, mom to four delightful (and perhaps challenging) children, is the eclectic and nature-loving owner of The Healthy Homeschool (http://www.thehealthyhomeschool.com). She welcomes you to visit her any time at her website!

"The world has no such flower in any land, and no such pearl in any gulf in the sea, as any babe on any mother's knee."
Algernon Swinburne
1837-1909
English poet

"Children are the anchors that hold a mother to life."
Sophocles
495-406 BC
Greek Poet

"Most mothers are instinctive philosphers."
Harriet Beecher Stowe
1811-1896
American Writer

"I got more children than I can rightly take care of, but I ain't got more than I can love."
Ossie Guffy
1931-
American writer