“All About Seeds” by Sheryl Gehrls
“A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering.
The formation of the seed is part of the process of reproduction in seed plants….”
There you have it! The definition of a seed and its reason for being in a short sentence.
Today I learned some interesting things about seeds. For instance, did you know there are only three essentials for a seed to begin to grow into a new plant? All seeds need water, oxygen, and the right temperature and mysteriously growth begins!
To continue to grow, all plants need 7 more things: room to grow, the right temperature, light, water, air, nutrients, and time.
There are the 5 stages of plant life cycle:
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- The seed
- Germination & Growth
- Pollination
- Reproduction
- Seed spreading stages
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And one final fun fact — Dormancy is a state of suspended animation in which seeds delay germination until conditions are right for survival and growth. In other words, they are sleeping until it’s time to wake up!
The Bible has a lot to say about seeds and sowing them. Jesus told a parable about a man who sowed his field, but the enemy came and sowed weeds right along with the wheat. He told another parable about sowing seeds of various kinds. Birds ate some of those seeds; some never germinated; and some bore fruit. God talks about giving us bountiful seed for sowing when we have generous hearts. We could list many more scriptures on this topic, but let’s move on.
By now, you’re probably asking what all this talk about seeds has to do with being a widow? Let’s see what spiritual principles we can draw from these fun facts about seeds. Through the years, I’ve learned that God is all about planting things into our lives: experiences, relationships, opportunities to grow, skills and abilities, spiritual gifts. Sometimes they stay in a state of dormancy for years before the conditions are right for them to appear.
Often, I meet widows who have had many seeds planted into their hearts throughout their lifetimes. Many times, the loss of her husband sends a widow into a state of dormancy. She needs a period of time to evaluate, to recover from shock, and to move into the right conditions for growing again. That will be different for every widow. But there will come a time when God whispers to the seed that’s been planted in her heart along the way. She’ll begin to think about that thing she’s always wanted to do, or maybe she finds herself dreaming about a totally new thing and wonders where that idea came from.
As that seed of a vision germinates, God begins to supply all the things it will take to grow: the right temperature, the water, the nutrients, the light, the environment, and time. Considering this as a spiritual application of a natural situation, we can see that God’s Word and our relationship with Him provide the “climate control” that it will take to help a widow emerge into all that God has in mind for her to be.
Each of us carries in our heart some seeds that God Himself has planted there. Some have been harvested from former seasons of our lives and planted deep within. They now are in a dormant stage, waiting for the new season and the right conditions to call them forth. They will grow into those final stages of the cycle that have to do with reproduction and seed spreading. We were never intended to hoard them in our hearts, but to grow to a new harvest, gather new seeds, and spread them all around to others who follow behind us.
Ask yourself, “What has God planted in my heart that hasn’t yet emerged?” You may surprise yourself as you think about this question! All fruit begins with a small seed. What fruit is your life bearing? Are the conditions right in your life for those seeds to germinate and begin to grow?
As always, your comments and feedback are welcome, and you can email me at sheryl@freshhope.us
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