Every Bean Is A Winner
Competition. With 5 kids in a small house, it is everywhere.
Who can get to the phone first when it rings ...Who can grab the seat first at the dinner table ... Who gets to the chicken coop first to collect the eggs...Who gets to be first to ride the horse ...
I can jump higher on the trampoline.
I can climb higher on the rock wall.
Race you down the hill.
Race you up to the top of the tree.
Competition.
It's not always a bad thing. But, I have noticed in my parenting it is not a good thing. Lately, I have tried to be intentional about teaching from a story point of view instead of a "see what this kid did, don't do that" point of view. I want to encourage and equip my kids as I train them up, not tear them down. Using one kids mistake as a benchmark for the others neither encourages or equips any of them, it only divides.
A few weeks ago my twins brought home each a baggie with 3 beans in it from school. There was a wet paper towel in each and we watched as the roots slowly opened up and grew out of those beans. It was neat to see God's handy work happening right in front of our eyes.
After a few days we planted their beans down in the soil of a couple of pots in my kitchen. 3 beans to a pot. His pot and her pot. They sits on a wooden plank in front of the window. They get sun and light. They get water from probably more then one child each day. We waited and watched as one little bean sprang up. It grew green and tall in just a short time. In the other pot there was still no sign of life. No sign that growth was happening. We knew there was life in there because we had witnessed it with our own eyes and planted it with our own hands, but yet nothing seemed to happen.
I loved watching my kids as one rejoiced over his fast growing bean and the other was sad that there was nothing, no sign of life in hers. A completion was happening right in front of us and it seemed one bean would win. Except, in the game of life and growth, in a world where mama is always on the look out for ways to teach without "teaching," every bean is a winner!
I asked my kids which bean are you?
Are you the one that, when planted in a new place takes roots quickly and grows fast? Do you flourish without even seeming to try? Are you comfortable in a new environment and you don't mind showing off how tall you can grow?
Or, are you a little bean that needs to test your soil? Maybe take a few days and make sure that the pot you are in is the right one. Do you need to make sure that the place you are planted is the right place before you invest and grow some roots?
See, even though we could no longer witness it, we knew that under the soil life was happening. We knew that that little bean was growing roots, because we saw it before we planted it.
Sometimes when we are in a growing season (like childhood or mommy-hood) we catch on quick.
Hitting that baseball over the fence- no problem!
The perfect cartwheel- easy.
Loving little ones so much that our hearts might actually explode- got that one down!
But other times, when we are growing, it may take us longer to see the life happening in us, to see the growth taking shape.
Reading independently- not so easy!
Doing a flip of the balance beam- that's a hard one!
Sleepless nights and a body that is forever changed- yikes!
So now, sweet friend, I ask you: Which bean are you? It's ok to sometimes be the fast-growing- flourishing-where-you-are-planted bean. And it is also ok to sometimes be the, test-the-soil-and-make sure-this-is-the-right-pot kinda bean! As long as you know and understand that life is happening. Growth is taking shape. Roots are grabbing hold. Sometimes it take longer to show the world how green and tall you can be, but in the end, every bean is a winner!
Dear Lord,
I pray for everyone reading this. I pray that the growth that they experience will be blessed by you and that the roots they form will be deep and strong in you. I pray for those who can not see life and growth taking shape, that you give them a glimpse of it and that you help them to stay steadfast in you!
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Who can get to the phone first when it rings ...Who can grab the seat first at the dinner table ... Who gets to the chicken coop first to collect the eggs...Who gets to be first to ride the horse ...
I can jump higher on the trampoline.
I can climb higher on the rock wall.
Race you down the hill.
Race you up to the top of the tree.
Competition.
It's not always a bad thing. But, I have noticed in my parenting it is not a good thing. Lately, I have tried to be intentional about teaching from a story point of view instead of a "see what this kid did, don't do that" point of view. I want to encourage and equip my kids as I train them up, not tear them down. Using one kids mistake as a benchmark for the others neither encourages or equips any of them, it only divides.
A few weeks ago my twins brought home each a baggie with 3 beans in it from school. There was a wet paper towel in each and we watched as the roots slowly opened up and grew out of those beans. It was neat to see God's handy work happening right in front of our eyes.
After a few days we planted their beans down in the soil of a couple of pots in my kitchen. 3 beans to a pot. His pot and her pot. They sits on a wooden plank in front of the window. They get sun and light. They get water from probably more then one child each day. We waited and watched as one little bean sprang up. It grew green and tall in just a short time. In the other pot there was still no sign of life. No sign that growth was happening. We knew there was life in there because we had witnessed it with our own eyes and planted it with our own hands, but yet nothing seemed to happen.
I loved watching my kids as one rejoiced over his fast growing bean and the other was sad that there was nothing, no sign of life in hers. A completion was happening right in front of us and it seemed one bean would win. Except, in the game of life and growth, in a world where mama is always on the look out for ways to teach without "teaching," every bean is a winner!
I asked my kids which bean are you?
Are you the one that, when planted in a new place takes roots quickly and grows fast? Do you flourish without even seeming to try? Are you comfortable in a new environment and you don't mind showing off how tall you can grow?
Or, are you a little bean that needs to test your soil? Maybe take a few days and make sure that the pot you are in is the right one. Do you need to make sure that the place you are planted is the right place before you invest and grow some roots?
See, even though we could no longer witness it, we knew that under the soil life was happening. We knew that that little bean was growing roots, because we saw it before we planted it.
Sometimes when we are in a growing season (like childhood or mommy-hood) we catch on quick.
Hitting that baseball over the fence- no problem!
The perfect cartwheel- easy.
Loving little ones so much that our hearts might actually explode- got that one down!
But other times, when we are growing, it may take us longer to see the life happening in us, to see the growth taking shape.
Reading independently- not so easy!
Doing a flip of the balance beam- that's a hard one!
Sleepless nights and a body that is forever changed- yikes!
So now, sweet friend, I ask you: Which bean are you? It's ok to sometimes be the fast-growing- flourishing-where-you-are-planted bean. And it is also ok to sometimes be the, test-the-soil-and-make sure-this-is-the-right-pot kinda bean! As long as you know and understand that life is happening. Growth is taking shape. Roots are grabbing hold. Sometimes it take longer to show the world how green and tall you can be, but in the end, every bean is a winner!
Dear Lord,
I pray for everyone reading this. I pray that the growth that they experience will be blessed by you and that the roots they form will be deep and strong in you. I pray for those who can not see life and growth taking shape, that you give them a glimpse of it and that you help them to stay steadfast in you!
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
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