Growing a Pumpkin
October has arrived. The cooler air has set in and the leaves are showing their new hues. Commercials on TV have switched from pools and lemonade to scarves, spiced coffees and fireplaces. Houses are coming alive with fall wreaths and garlands. But for me, seeing the pumpkins make their autumnal debut is what truly signals the change of seasons.
Do you have pumpkins at your house? You may not have picked out the orange pumpkins from the local farm yet, but we all have our little pumpkins at home…our children.
“Yes, pumpkin?” I answered my son the other morning. My response sparked curiosity regarding how a gardener actually grows a pumpkin patch. I went ‘digging’ to find the vital steps in producing a Great pumpkin. Little did I know I would discover an amazing correlation between fostering the squashes (a pumpkin is a type of squash) and nurturing our children through the various stages of life.
The gardener must keep the new pumpkin seeds indoors in warm, hydrated soil before planting them outside. As parents, we keep our infants close to home, keep them warm and raise them inside before sending them out into their early childhood. We protect and hold the fragile baby close, just like a gardener shelters the new seed.
After the seeds have incubated, the gardener plants the seeds outdoors giving each seed space and lots of sunlight. Our children begin to enter toddler-hood and early childhood; we begin to slowly plant them out in to the world. They attend daycare or school, begin playdates with others and start dabbling in activities. During these younger years our children are also introduced to church and the Christian faith which warms the soul just as the sun does the seed.
Thirdly, the gardener ensures the soil is watered periodically so it does not dry out. Pre-teen children begin to face new emotions and new obstacles in life. They can easily dry out spiritually if their family and the Church is not actively and regularly watering them with the Word of God.
Once the seeds begin to grow and flower, the gardener must remove any weeds and fertilize the growth. Then comes the teenage years! Our children are blossoming and finding what makes them vibrant. But life can bring some nasty weeds during this time. Involving our teens in the church will help keep the weeds at bay in hopes their vines can continue to grow strong in the Lord.
Finally, the pumpkin begins to grow a few vines. The gardener must occasionally shift the vines so that the weight of the growing pumpkin does not crush the very vines it needs to survive. In the blink of an eye, our child is off to college and headed towards adulthood. We can no longer make decisions for them. All we can do is give advice. As parents, we want their vines to continually shift towards Christ so that the weight of the world does not crush them.
Our prayer is that our little one will grow into a Great pumpkin, a great fruit (yes, a pumpkin is a fruit). We want our pumpkins to be sturdy, resilient to the weeds of sin, and strong with vines that run ripe with the spirit of the Lord. And one day we will see our children, our pumpkins, bear good fruit that furthers God’s kingdom. (John 15:1-8)
Merideth Tullous has spent her career in the professional ballet industry. Her most notable contribution was redesigning and managing a now fully-funded community ballet program which reaches thousands of local children-giving them free access to the arts. She has a love for teaching children and has most recently released her first Children’s Christmas book, A Gift to Remember. To learn more about Merideth’s book or to contact for guest articles or speaking engagements, visit www.meridethtullous.com.
