Death is Life

My seedlings grow like little beauties but they require just the right amount of attention. I touch the soil and check the moisture and add as I feel like they need. I turn them so they get sunshine on all sides. I encourage the little seeds to put down roots, shed their dry shell and push leaves up into light.

These indoor seedlings take a lot of time. Sometimes I drop their care because something else comes up that is more important like going to visit a family member in the hospital. I leave written instructions for my children about what each type of plant needs if I have to go away for a couple days.

The lisianthus grows oh so slow but their antique shades of blooms will be worth it. I'm still learning to know the albion nigella and it shot up fast and gangly so I carefully buried and supported its stem when i transplanted it. I hope it doesn't rot off by the stem but i'll watch it carefully. The talinum limon germinated with great success and I now have more of those lime green plants than I've had for years. I hope they bloom early enough to cut the sparkly red seed pods for bouquets. The hot peppers are sturdy and short. I tried just leaving their grow light on day and night and they have obviously loved the steady warmth.

My plants grow oh so beautifully and take so much time but they bring a lot of blessings. I check on them every morning and every night. Isn't that sort of we how people are? We have all different types of needs but mostly all we require is attention to our present state.

I recently read that parenting is 80 percent good salesmanship. Being a salesman requires the ability to connect and interact in a cheerful energizing manner without being off putting. A salesman realizes what the people need to hear just like I get to know my plants and try to supply what they need. In being a good salesman I have to forget about myself for just a bit to fully focus on someone else right now.

Just thinking about being a salesman made me realize all sorts of ways I can energize our household. It's going to take a lot of time, perhaps burning my lamp at both ends. N.D. Wilson from Death By Living says, "May I live hard. To the dregs. May my living be grace to those behind me."