Planting Seeds

For the last year-and-a-half, I have been teaching 7th graders. Occasionally, at the end of the day, I leave feeling frustrated because I don't see the results I want to see. However, I understand that teaching takes time. It's like planting a seed: the growing season is just a little longer in humans.

Today, Nicoll and I planted some seeds that we plan on transferring into a garden after the last frost.
We planted eggplant, bell peppers, and broccoli.

Hopefully, seeing the growth in our garden this year will help me to see the growth my students are experiencing in my classroom.


On a more spiritual note, for centuries monks (and others who are spiritually minded) have devoted themselves to tending gardens as a spiritual endeavor. There are many different spiritual lenses that one could use to look at gardening, but I want to focus on the aspect of penance.

When I speak of penance, I speak of the voluntary acceptance of doing (or not doing) something as a way of showing God one's penitence for his or her sin. In the book of Genesis, God cursed the ground because of Adam and told him "in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field."

The majority of my life I have eaten the fruits of the labor of others: both figuratively and literally. I have been in the work force for two-and-a-half years now, so for over 22 years I ate at the expense of others. And I certainly have never had to painfully work to grow the food I ate.

I say all that to say this: as I am planting seeds of knowledge in the minds of my students and I have come to understand what an arduous and painful process educating is, it has made me want to work for my food in a very concrete way--partially as professional development, but largely for penance for the sin that I have brought into the world.

I'm sure that there will be several more posts to come about gardening, planting, and growing as this process continues--there is certainly enough biblical material to go off of.

Just a few of my thoughts; yours are welcome in the comments.