Seeds of hope planted today may reap everlasting rewards years later
Spring’s fertility is Marches Glory
Robert Louis Stevenson: “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”
Perhaps we remember elementary school science experiments with a sweet potato suspended with toothpicks inside a glass jar with water. Then, we watched as it produced white roots, green shoots, and leaves. Or, did you ever have plastic cups of potting soil to sprout beans in a windowsill. Or, how about an incubator with fertile eggs that had to be turned daily before the baby chicks hatched?
These experiences invited us to wonder as seemingly inert potatoes, seeds, and eggs showcased surprising life.
These early lessons demonstrated that hidden potentiality, secret growth, and unseen transformation are all around us. Under the right conditions, with proper care, life in all its diversity and complexity finds expression in myriad ways. Whether by divine command or evolutionary preservation of the species, the drive to be fruitful and multiply is found throughout life on earth. Spring’s fertility is March’s glory.
Consider the concentrated power within a single seed. A dried seed looks lifeless with the hard shell enveloping it. Within it, however, a miniature plant hides, ready to be activated with water, light, and soil. Such seeds may lay dormant for centuries. In fact, in 2005, a Judean date palm seed from 2000 years ago was successfully germinated by scientists in Jerusalem. Life finds a way even across vast time.
Reflect on the seeds of hope implanted within you through parents, siblings, grandparents, teachers, coaches, mentors, friends, and loved ones. Recollect the ways they provided an environment for your unique gifts to sprout, take root, blossom, and bear fruit. Rejoice that this fruit has seeded new possibilities that you now tend and cultivate.
- What seeds of potential, growth, and transformation are in your hand?
- Where might you plant them for your benefit and this community’s blessing?
- How are you planting seeds of hope within others?
Rev. Dr. Sybrant serves at Murray Hills Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). For more info, visit us at 15050 SW Weir Road, Beaverton. www.murrayhills.org | 503-524-5230
