Originally posted on Miss P’s Ponderings on April 17, 2012
As I sit at my computer desk contemplating what to work on during my 25 minutes of prep time, I look outside. Right outside my classroom window is a courtyard with a small tree growing in it. I see the branches gently blowing and think how nice it would be to be outside…walking around the playground. Then, I look at the students’ desks…and I see the need for us to clean, clean, clean those things out! Man, I think their desks are as messy as mine, and they have lots less room for the disorganization. Finally, I look over to the window ledge…and see seven clear cups with seeds planted…not growing.
Do you know how disappointed students are when they are waiting for seeds to germinate? Do you know how frustrated an elementary teacher becomes when the “science” isn’t happening like she “thinks” it should? Let’s just say…each day…of no growth…is greeted with both frustration and disappointment. However, it’s also greeted with hope.
You see…when there’s no growth…when “nothing” is happening…there’s always hope. Hope that something will happen soon… Hope that something is happening “beneath the surface” that we simply can’t see. The frustration and hope that the twenty-six people in room 302 experience due to those stubborn seeds are part of our life journey. Don’t you think?
A pastor once told me that if we’re not coming out of a personal storm or in the midst of a personal storm…to hold on because a storm is on the way. Likewise, after the storm…is the calm weather, the clear sky, the cool breeze, and the rainbow promise. As you go through those storms…or periods of uncertainty…or arid growth spurts, there’s hope. Hope that the storm will end soon. Hope that the uncertainty will be made clear. Hope that growth will begin.
Whether the growth is physical, emotional, academic, or spiritual…it will come. Sometimes…the soil just needs to be tended more than others. Sometimes, the seeds are too old and “new” seed should be used. But that cup of soil…it will bring growth. Just observe…hope…and tend the garden before you. And if there’s a storm, hold on…it won’t last long.
Jodi Lea Pflaumer, Author 