It is the garden I tend to on a daily basis. It is the place where I cultivate the ground, plant seeds, water the soil, pluck weeds and bear fruit. It is a daily work, hard work. It is constant. All day and even at night. It is moment by moment. It is in the smallest moment where true growth happens.
Growth happens under the right environment. I have to ensure my environment/home, encourages growth!
What do I grow? I grow minds, hearts, little souls.... little children that will grow to be whatever they choose.
24/7 I am a mother. I cultivate 24/7. But on Monday-Friday 7am-5pm I invite other children from within the community into my home to GROW. It is called, "Little Garden Family Day Care". We are family owned and operated.
I have always wanted to be a mother .... but a few years ago I discovered that child care and working with children in general is my passion. So why not turn my passion into a career? About 2-3 years ago I had the idea to start my own in home day care where I can work and be a stay at home mom. And 1 year ago "Little Garden Family Day Care" officially launched!
It was a risk! I had a decent paying nanny job where I could take Jael with me to work. But it wasn't my dream... it paid the bills. At that same time, Curtis got a new job that allowed us the financial wiggle room for me to take the risk.
So I quite my job in the fall, enrolled in some online courses at Penn Foster University, gave myself a $500 start up fund and a goal of 6 months to launch the business. It was hard work and no pay! I had classes to take, books to read, contracts to write, accounts to open, guidelines to draw and an entire business idea to create out of nothing. And of course, a name! I wanted to capture the essence of my business within the name. Nothing seemed to fit. I prayed. I asked God. I threw a lot of names away. They were good but just not right.
Then one Sunday morning while listening to our pastor preach the name just popped into my head... with no explanation why. "Little Garden" because my home is my garden. It was perfect.
Since launching the business in January 2015 there have been ups and downs. Times that I have rejoiced and times that I have cried and considered closing it down and finding a "real job".
But I stuck with it and the results have been exciting. Children are growing. Parents are excited to see the difference in their children as they come to my day care. They are growing socially as we learn to share, be considerate and listen to directions. They are growing in their hearts as we play and laugh together. They are growing in their minds as we have "Learning Time" everyday where we work on colors, numbers, letters and more!
But as I "grow" children... I realize that I am also growing! I am growing in patience, perseverance and creativity. I am also growing in the Lord. Let's face it... there is no way around it... no matter how passionate you are about child care.... IT IS HARD! It is hard work and it is just simply hard all around. Children demand so much time, energy and attention. And in order to endure, I have to rely fully on the Lord for daily, moment by moment strength.
But the harder I work.... the more I realize. I may do everything right to tend my garden. But it is God who does the true growing. He is the one who gives Life! He is the one who makes their hearts beat, their lungs full of air, their minds function, their bodies grow and their hearts to be full. God is the source of all life. He is the source for these children and the source of my "Little Garden Family Day Care".
"A Surrendered Heart" by Chip Coates
So from the very beginning I had to surrender the business to God. Lord whatever you want to do with this business is up to you. I give it all to you because I know that you are the Supreme Gardener of our hearts and lives.
Let's see what he does with it in year 2!
