Temporary Caretakers

“Take care of this grapevine that you yourself have planted, this son you have raised for yourself.” (Psalm 80:15 NLT)

In our area, tomatoes are not ready for harvest until late in the growing season. They require consistent water all through the summer. Our neighbor tends to his tomatoes carefully--planting them in different spots every year, protecting the young plants against pests, supporting the vines in sturdy cages, fertilizing their garden with compost, checking their rain gauge, and watering the plants as needed. Every July, this neighbor goes to visit his relatives down South. He asks me to look after his tomato plants while he is on vacation. I take this responsibility seriously. I know how much care these plants have received already. I dutifully water them daily, even when there are no visible fruits. When my neighbor gets back from vacation, I am glad to hand back these responsibilities. He is a much better gardener than I am. In late summer, when the tomatoes ripen, my neighbor shares his crop with me. I am pleased that I got to play a small part in all of this, but I don’t have any illusions about who grew those tomatoes!

As parents, we get to take care of our children for a short while. While this is a serious responsibility, we must remind ourselves that God is the one who tenderly planted and raised our children. We can trustingly hand them back to the Lord. He is a much better caretaker than we can ever be.  God allows us to share in the joy of parenting, but let us not have any illusions about who has raised our kids thus far! The Lord is a dependable teacher, guide, and mentor. Let us continually surrender all our concerns to Him.