The Fruitful Home

To properly grow anything one must follow a process. It is no different with children. While listening to the radio today I was reminded of the scripture in Psalm. The one that speaks of the wife being a fruitful vine and children being like olive plants round the family table. I believe that God's Word doesn't just randomly throw words, so I knew that the olive plants must hold some significance elsewise, the Word would not compare children to them. I decided to take a moment and do a small bit of research on olive plants.


Olive tree plants originate in warmer climates, it is then perhaps surprising that the olive tree is an adaptable & hardy plant, suitable for growing in a wide range of climates. This explanation brought to mind the age-old saying: Children are flexible. And so true that is. If the child is taken care of, the right conditions present, the child will adapt to life and the circumstances given.

Once the seed of an olive tree is planted, one must keep the mixture of the soil damp, not soaking wet, and in a warm place that receives plenty of sunshine.
Germination may take up to several weeks, but just remain patient and keep the conditions optimal for germination by maintaining constant watering and steady warm temperatures. Children require constant patients and for optimal maturity they also, so require a lot of watering; such as praise and affirmation--the steady warm temperatures of love.

To transplant the seeds, as soon as they've germinated, the plant must be put into a quick-draining soil. An optimal soil preparation is to mix 1 part normal potting soil with 3 parts of cactus potting soil. This reminded me that for optimal maturity a child must have a mixture of things in life: blessing & trial. A well-balanced individual can not have normalicy alone, but other conditions are made present to put one to the test..so that the fiery, prickly things in life make a character that is worth gold.

In the continuity of care for the olive plant, watering the seedling well and placing it in a warm, sunny area is needed. During this initial stage, it's best to continue growing the olive tree indoors, in order to protect it, even if warm conditions exist outdoors as well. Isn't that how we as God-fearing Mothers are in the care for our children? We want them safe and protected from the the conditions of this world.

The process of growing the olive tree continues. One must prune the lower leaves off of the olive tree as it begins to grow, encouraging upward growth and its development into a tree instead of a shrub. We, as mothers have to prune our children. In our training them for something good they, meanwhile, can only feel the cutting. They don't understand that it's for their growth that we must tell them the do's and don'ts. This part of training children to be as "trees planted by the Water" is not the fun part of our job, but it is an absolute must.

After a bit of time passes for the olive plant, one must only water the plant after the soil in the pot feels dry to the touch. One must also make sure that it stays in warm conditions and has good access to the sun. This reminds me of Teenagers. The "plant" is placed in all the right conditions and we must trust in those conditions. Constant watering at this point is only bothersome and if the mother continues to pry, to water, the teenager becomes withdrawn. All the Mother can do at this point is make sure the tender child stays in warm conditions never, doesn't become dry in the Spirit, and has good access to the SON--Jesus Christ.

Psalm 128:3, The wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

What a beautiful descriptive portrait that God's Word paints for our view in regard to the Home. We must live our lives and not be afraid to try to leave this world a better place. We must live life with passion and with as few regrets as we can. Nothing to Prove, Nothing to Lose, and Nothing to Hide.