5-17-20 Growing People

Quote: “Every plant has their own requirements in order to grow… and so do people.”

Let me walk you through what it’s like after teaching kindergarten… on the first day of school.

I exhaustedly yet excitedly tell my husband Mark to sit down and listen because I’ve got a lot to share!  It usually goes something like this: “Oh my word – I love them all!  They are so stinkin’ cute.  But I can tell it’s going to be my  toughest year yet.  How in the world am I going to get all of them to learn to read and write and count to 100?!  But more importantly, how am I going to get them to all stop blurting out when the teacher is talking?  I can’t get anything done!”  Then Mark politely reminds me I say these same things, every single year.  So I continue.

“Yeah, but this year I’ve got 5 sassafrasses who definitely are not used to being told what to do so I’m going to have to reign those skills in.  Those are going to be my class leaders and helpers!   I had 4 that were crying – they are so going to need a little extra TLC just to get through each day!  I’ve got the 10 that have been in preschool for 3 years, they know the drill, they walked in a straight line right away, and gave me this look like, what more you got?  Bring it.  Then I had the 2 who had never been in a group setting before and just wanted me to hold them so they both clung to me for the majority of the day.  Then there were the group of 4 who kept staring outside at the window and looking at me like, wow I hope she quits talking soon so we can get outside and play on that red play climber.  How am I going to meet all their needs and help them all grow?!  What if I can’t figure it out this year?”

This reminds me of this picture I came across of the plants.  Notice how each plant has a different formula for success written on the side.  Some need sun, some need shade, some need a little of both.  Some need lots of water and some need only a little.  Some need a warm environment while some don’t need it as hot.

That’s what makes this world so great!  We are not all duplicates.  We don’t come from the same cookie cutter.  In fact, I am the only child of my 2 parents.  There is no one who shares an even similar DNA with me.  We are all born into different families and cultures, yet we are all humans.  It’s like that in my classroom, it’s like that in my house, and it’s like that everywhere.  We don’t all come from the same mold.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget this simple principle.  We may think we know what a person needs but we can be way off.  What brings one person comfort might hurt another person deeply.  What love looks like to one person might not be seen as love to another person.  God meant for each of us to leave our own unique soulprint on the world.  We were meant to be and thrive in different types of environments.

As a teacher, I can take 25 different little personalities and somehow shape them into a caring family.  It is absolutely fascinating to watch as that first month of school goes on.  They each need nurtured in their own way.  The key is to find that perfect combination of sunlight, water, and temperature they each need – and then they BLOOM!

If there is someone in your life that you are having a difficult time connecting with or figuring out or making an impact on, consider what they may need from you to grow.  It might look different than you were raised.  It might seem odd or go against the norm.  But your effort could lead to their first genuine relationship, one where they feel understood and loved like never before.

1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”  Sometimes love looks like finding out someone’s gifts or talents and empowering them to take a big step.  Sometimes love looks like protecting someone who is being bullied or made fun of for what they believe.  Sometimes it looks like giving tough love and saying, “I’m here for you if you ever change your mind about how you feel” and then proving it.

Each of us needs different things to grow.  Who in your life needs your kind words to help them grow?  The best way to encourage them is by introducing them to Jesus and how he loved all kinds of different people.  He is the true sun and light.