Our Little Olive Plants

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

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Last Saturday evening, 10-year-old Jamal and I attended the Vigil Mass for the Feast of the Holy Family. During the second reading, I gently punched my son’s arm as we heard the words, “Children, obey your parents,” But then Jamal laughed when the next line was, “Fathers, do not provoke your children.” It’s been a very family-centric Christmas Season and New Year, in step with my Word for the Week!

The Word that stood out to me most at Mass last weekend was, “your children like olive plants around your table,” from Psalm 128. So, what are olive plants like, anyway? I asked Google. The accuracy of the top results made me laugh!

First, according to EdenProject.com, “Olive plants are tougher than you think.” When this description appeared at the top of the search page, I grinned. Time and again, my kids are tougher than I imagine! Farther down into the web results, I found an insightful question from GardenersPath.com.

The gardening website inquired, “Are you up for a challenge that is extraordinarily rewarding? Grow olive trees!” I couldn’t think of a statement that better sums up parenthood than “a challenge that is extraordinarily rewarding!” I also found some botanical advice that left me researching new words:

“Most olive trees take about three years to come into maturity and begin to set noticeable amounts of fruit. To increase fruit set, it is recommended that you plant more than one cultivar close together.” -GardeningKnowHow.com. Does anyone understand what “cultivar” means?

After some research, I think “cultivar” signifies a group of plants that are bred from two different plants to make a very distinct new plant. Sounds like children to me! Also, maybe the recommendation to plant olive trees close to other cultivars signifies how it’s best for children to grow up close to other children from different families!

Beyond feeling inspired by horticulture and amused that my own kids definitely show their personality most beginning at age 3 (akin to how the olive plants come into maturity after three years of growth), the Lord has been leading me to deep moments of gratitude for our four children. For instance, on one of the recent weekdays... 

[Here I paused writing due to a real-time interruption of an hour from my real-life children. Now I am trying to get back into the writing zone. However, my lovely children seem to have borrowed my energy and taken it for themselves so instead of writing a different example, I will just use this one. There.]

Sigh. Jesus is here with us, right?! Whether you are a fellow exhausted parent of young children, a reflective grandparent who has already walked this journey, or a spiritual mother or father figure who has enjoyed the “best of both worlds” in many regards... Cheers! We are in good company with Jesus and his family! He’s the one who makes family life holy!

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