I am not a professional at growing forsythia. These are the only flowers I’ve ever had on bushes I’ve been growing for 5 years. We have changed their location, tried new fertilizers and watered through frozen ground. But I just got these few flowers. I treasure them.

There is a Korean legend about the forsythia. I love it because it talks about leaving and returning to family. A young man leaves his wife. He is a poet. He returns to find his wife waiting. He writes her a poem about forsythia and love.

For kids who go away to school leaving and returning is a big event. And actually in my life a pain. “Do you have your lunch, backpack, homework, show and tell and clothes?!” were the common questions at our doorway when my girls left. But there was a ritual to the leaving and coming around love.

Try doing a beginning and ending ritual for your home school children. Light a rechargeable candle as home school begins. Simple words like, “The light of Christ is with us” can be powerful as a beginning ritual. Turn the candle of at the end of your time together and simply say, “Amen.”

A ritual of love for beginnings and endings is a good way to bring faith into your home school.

This is a picture of the details of Spring on my Seasons of Faith Labyrinth. Look at it closely.

Okay, Grandparents, what’s the most important thing about seeing the kids? Is it what you do? Is it how you dress? Is it how much money you spend. Nope… the answer is dah, dah_
Spend Time

How you get to know them doesn’t matter. When you get to know them doesn’t matter. Just get to know them. Skype, letters, visits, meals, emails, videos, just get to know them. Because if you look back at the first picture, you’ll see little buds. Each time you get to the kids better a bud blooms. The buds become flowers and the beauty is wonderful.

Spend time with the kids.

This year, even being a crocus in my yard is hard work. It’s May 2nd and it was 31 degrees this morning. I have faith that things will bloom, just like these purple beauties. But right now I’ve a little nervous.

The thing is that I always seem to want more in the bloom department. Just like I always seen to want more faith. I’m not even sure what more faith is. Jesus talked about the mustard seed. Faith is just faith. It is or it isn’t. Faith endures or it gives up. So how can I want more faith?

I think the issue is wanting more of everything. We are a society of more. We want to be more beautiful without thinking that we are made in God’s image however we look. We want more forgiveness when we screw up when we are forgiven no matter what. We want more, more, more…

We need to be reminded that more isn’t particularly better. More gray hair isn’t better. More belly fat isn’t better. More debt isn’t better. So why are we so convinced we need more faith?

Maybe a small crocus shooting through the frozen ground is enough. What do you think?