Lawn Care Lessons

About this time every year, I begin to think about the lawn. After all, it is only 47 days until spring. Pitchers and catchers report in two weeks. Summer isn’t far behind, so I’m thinking green. Now, Mrs. Weller will tell you that I am a bit obsessed with my turf. I constantly remind the children that sidewalks are for walking and grass . . . well . . . grass isn’t. Tracy wanted to have a yard sale last year, but I told her she couldn’t use the yard.

As much as crab grass and lawn litter lawn bother me, there is something that irks me more: people cutting the corner of our lot. For some reason, there are drivers who fail to recognize that the road ends where the turf begins. They cut across the corner of our yard. Last spring this happened so often that a sizeable mud hole developed. It got so big that we found a small child and his dirt bike inside. I filled the hole, seeded the new soil and put four metal posts in the ground to discourage people from cutting the corner.

I share all of this with you to help you understand how pleased I was recently when my oldest son stormed into the house in a huff. Someone had cut the corner and ran over our posts. "They don’t they have any respect for a man’s yard," he hollered. "It’s just wrong!"

I beamed! Soon he’ll be lingering in the lawn care section and having internal conversations about the comparative merits of drop spreaders verses liquid application. ‘At’s my boy!
It’s exciting for every mom and dad when their child begins to care about the same things they care about.

Make no mistake, your children will care about the things that are important to you. Are making money and acquiring possessions your highest priorities? Don’t be surprised when Junior begins focusing on material things. Are you concerned with popularity - being seen with the glamour set? Expect Missy to adjust her behavior in school to accommodate the crowd, too.

On the other hand, if spiritual things are important to you, then they’ll likely be important to your children. Is living out your faith on Monday through Saturday a priority for you? Your children will see that example and develop more than a Sunday-only faith themselves. Do you devote time and energy to a ministry in the church? Soon your sons and daughters will want to serve alongside you. What is important to you will become important to them. And when it does, you will experience joy!

Just like the joy your Heavenly Father feels when you begin to care about the things He cares about.

As you grow in your faith, you’ll become more like your Father in Heaven so that what brings Him joy will make you joyful. What causes Him to weep will break your heart, too. You’ll experience Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 3:18 - ". . . our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him. . ."

And that, my friend, will bring joy both to your Father and to you.