Children’s Literature develops through themes that are both understood by youngsters now but also encourage their future growth and development. One such children’s story is entitled Miss Maple’s Seeds by Eliza Wheeler.
In this story, Miss Maple ventures out yearly during springtime to find seeds that were lost during the spring planting season. She hopes to foster these seeds until they are ready to be planted next year. During the fall and winter seasons she instructs these seeds in survival tactics so that when planted they will grow up to be what nature intended.
“Take care, my little ones, for the world is big and you are small,” Miss Maple whispers to the seeds. “But never forget that even the grandest of trees once had to grow up from the smallest of seeds.”
When we can see the oak in the acorn, the butterfly in the cocoon, the raindrop in the ocean, and the blade of grass in the meadow, we begin to understand that large things are not achievable overnight but are achieved through a slow and steady process. Children and adults need to internalize this message in order to understand the steps to success concerning whatever task they are undertaking. Today with instant gratification promised for nearly everything from weight loss to degrees in ministry, people assume there is a quick and easy road to whatever it is they desire. The reverse is true. Achievement takes time, hard work, and practice in order to merit the desired result. There’s an old saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
Gardening takes effort. It takes space, patience, endurance, persistence, and healthy bodies to do the work. Still, everyone can plant seeds that reap results over time too. These seeds work to grow characteristics in people that enable them to become their improved selves. Why not sow some of the following seeds listed below this spring and witness how your garden grows?
The seeds of: Patience, Kindness, Mercy, Acceptance, Forgiveness, Imagination, Generosity, Love, Hope, Wisdom, Grace, Laughter, Friendship, Peace, and Caring
As you plant this garden, watch how these seeds grow in yourself and others and become perennial blooms that can blossom for a lifetime.
