Hubby and I recently set up a soaker hose in the garden. We have it on a timer, and every morning the soaker hose comes on and does its thing.
As a result, the garden is healthy and happy … and producing lots of snow peas, beans, and zucchini!
The whole point of having a soaker hose is the fact that it is reliable and dependable … to faithfully water the plants. That’s the whole point.
Being a parent is a lot like being a “soaker hose.” Parenting requires us to be reliable and dependable … to faithfully “pour into” our children.
We “pour into” our children basic common sense.
We “pour into” our children knowledge about how the world works.
We “pour into” our children wisdom about how to be a part of society and how to interact with other people.
We “pour into” our children life experiences … learning by doing things together.
We “pour into” our children our time.
We “pour into” our children our energy.
We “pour into” our children our very life.
We can’t do this halfheartedly. We can’t do this “whenever its convenient.” To be honest, it flat out won’t be convenient.
It will be hard. It will be exhausting. It will require us to continually keep “pouring out” when we flat out don’t want to … and when we flat out don’t have anything left to give.
Being a parent is like being a “soaker hose” … continually, faithfully “pouring out” life to our kids … so that they, in turn, can grow up to be strong, capable, reliable, dependable adults … who then likewise become a “soaker hose” to “pour out” to others.
