The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

life have been much like those of a picturesque flower garden—a collection gathered from many sources and all planted and watered by the Holy Spirit.

There are the seeds of goodness and faith that come from the Word, for I would not know the meaning of goodness without Scripture and the Law to define sin, nor can any measure of faith grow in my own heart without springing from the seed of the Word since “. . . faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10: 17). And so, I must plant the seed of God’s Word in my life and be willing to walk it and talk it even when it means sacrificing hurried schedules and other selfish agendas.

. . . The daily trials that
test our hearts slowly
pluck out the weeds
of pride, impatience,
selfishness, and
calloused indifference
from my life.

While the harvest is still not yet complete, years have helped me see that the fruit of longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, and temperance began to spring forth many years ago as tiny shoots of grass in a heart that was a landscape of weeds. That fruit has been given room to grow only as the daily trials that test our hearts slowly pluck out the weeds of pride, impatience, selfishness, and calloused indifference from my life.

Of all the seeds I hope to give my children, the seeds of a grateful heart are the most valued, because from them spring the everlasting fruit of love, joy, and peace. Gratitude does not seem to grow naturally in our hearts that are by nature so puffed up and over-inflated with self, and we are made aware of the life-sustaining fruit that gratitude yields only when we have offered our hearts on the altar and died to self. Grateful hearts that are truly aware of the grace we’ve been given are hearts that are willing to die to self each day and look beyond our selfish wants and desires to see those things eternal that awe the soul and overwhelm us with thankfulness.

www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
This year, as I plant those tiny seeds
filled with promise into the warming
earth, I will take a few minutes to care-
fully examine the seeds left to grow in the
garden of my heart and see if I’ve plant-
ed the seed of the Word, weeded it with
thanksgiving for those things that tempt
and try, and surrendered self, that self
might die in order that mature seeds can
fall in abundance from my life.

Sheila Campbell began homeschooling in 1991, and after the death of her husband in 2001, she homeschooled as a single parent. She also was the parent of a special needs child whom she cared for at home until his death in 2004. These difficulties have strengthened her walk with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and it is her prayer that her words will encourage and inspire others. Sheila resides in Hale Center, Texas, and recently left her job with the Texas Home School Coalition to pursue her writing goals. Sheila invites you to visit her blog at pausingtopraise . wordpress.com.