Candlemas and Starting To Grow God's Garden

     I did it! I finally did it you guys! I got together a Candlemas celebration that was worthy of the adorableness that is Candlemas. You would have been so proud of me. Granted, we did not do the celebration on Candlemas, because- c'mon, do you not know me at all? The point is we did it, with candles and seeds and praying and stories, and everything, and it was super fun.
     This year I decided that our Candlemas imagery was seeds. Halfway between winter solstice and spring eqinox, Candlemas is the point to shake off the winter blahs. Bulbs start to sprout out of the ground, and animals come out of hibernation. It is traditionally a time to prep the farm for the upcoming season. It's also the day wer remember the Anointment of Jesus at the temple, which I figure workds perfectly with the seed imagery. Stay with me here. Jesus is getting bigger. He's not just a sleepy, lump anymore; he's a reaching, toddling, gurgling baby with a personality. His annunciation- basically his baptism- welcomes Jesus into the Jewish community and starts him on God's path. Mary Joseph, Ana and Simeon weren't sure where his path would lead, but they could tell that it was important and would bring everyone closer to God. It all ties together: seeds, growing potential, the start down our path as a child of God: boom. Nailed it, right?
     So, imagery secured, we started our celebration with God's Dream by Desmond Tutu. The book uses gentle language and sweet illustrations to describe God's dream as loving each other as his children regardless of race religion or creed. It is one of our favorites. The story helped us make our Prayer Garden, based on the Wish Garden on Living Crafts. The kids drew pictures about ways that they hoped they could bring God's dream into being. I told them that these pictures were prayers, and prayers are like seeds. We begin by seeking God's way in our hearts, and by then, trying to follow the path of love, we will make God's home on Earth. It is the only true way to be happy. Warren drew a picture of a fireman helping an astronaut. Amani drew a picture of her helping animals.
     Next for the garden portion. I had bought some small seeds, and combined them with the seeds that came with the Fairy Garden Amani had received for Christmas. The kids buried their prayers in the soil, and sprinkled the soil with seeds. WWe also had to repot some orchids, so, you know, two birds. Remembering that longer sunny days were on the way, we placed a candle next to our flower pots, and Amani emphasized that we should all stop drop and roll should the flame suddenly roar out of control and consume the porch in flames. Safety first, guys.

In our prayer, we asked God to help us reach our goals so that we can bring happiness and light to the world.  Then we had granola bars. Grains are seeds. Delicious and seasonally appropriate.
     The kids really liked it, and I think having the flowers growing inside will help them remember the idea and give us something to reflect on and talk about as we watch the plants grow.