Tending William

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:32-5:2

Logan called to Mom as he raced down the stairs and toward the back door. “I’m heading out to my garden to do the weeding.” Logan had his own garden in the backyard and was looking forward to caring for his plants.

Mom stuck her head out of the kitchen. “Can you take William with you, please? He’s been wanting to go outside all day.”

Logan sighed. Taking William with him would make tending his garden go much slower with all the questions he would ask. Logan was tempted to complain, but thought better of it. Mom needed to take care of baby Rose, since she was teething and feeling miserable. Besides, William could be cute sometimes.

“William,” Logan said, “would you like to go with me to the garden?”

“Yes!” William shrieked with delight. “Will you help me put on my shoes? Why do we have to go to the garden? What are we going to do there?”

Logan sighed, but smiled as he kneeled down to buckle William’s sandals. “We need to go to the garden to pull weeds and care for the plants.”

William paused a moment, but soon thought of more questions. “How do we care for plants? Why do we pull weeds?” Logan continued to answer William’s questions as they headed outside. “We care for the plants by checking to see what they need. They may need water or extra support. If we don’t pull the weeds, the plants won’t have room to grow.” He knew there would be many more questions before the day was done. Mom and Dad had told him that asking questions was how William learned, and that answering them kindly and carefully helped William grow and showed him God’s love.

While William paused to chase a butterfly, Logan realized something. Showing patience and kindness to William wasn’t that different from taking care of his plants. He decided he would work harder to find out what William needed and help him grow. – Myrical Barton

How About You?

Do you get impatient when younger kids ask lots of questions? Does it annoy you when friends or classmates don’t understand something? Remember that Jesus is patient and loving toward you, and that you show His love to others by treating them the same way. Be patient with others and do all you can to help them grow.

Today’s Key Verse: Ephesians 4:2 (NIV) Be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Today’s Key Thought:

Be patient and help others grow