Needs

By Megan Danquah

Did you know that you were created with needs? Needs of many kinds. Our bodies have need for food, water, exercise and sleep. Those are some of our physical needs. What about emotional needs? Have you ever stopped to consider what emotional needs you have? As women, I can guarantee you that you are in touch with the emotional needs of your husband, children, friends. What about yourself? What are YOUR emotional needs?

Growing up a Christian, it was always a given that I had physical needs. After all, I knew that if I didn’t eat, drink, move and sleep that eventually I would die. Therefore, I knew how to take care of my needs in that area and placed meeting those needs as a priority every single day. My physical needs were satiated. On the other hand, I was literally starved emotionally for lack of recognizing and getting my emotional needs met. The emphasis of the message I was hearing was not centered on the importance of taking time to myself to recharge, finding time to pursue things that brought me life, or even the deeper needs of hearing that I was enough. As humans, we need to know that we are loved, that we belong, that we have immeasurable value and worth. We need to know that what we think, our opinions, our likes and dislikes, our personality are all important. We need to know that we are enough. Period. 

I’ve noticed that in church, we hear a lot about how God meets our emotional needs and that is absolutely true. Because we live in a world full of sin, God is the only perfect being who can meet our emotional needs and we can rest in that fully. There is another side to all this, however. The main, God-given role of our parents in our childhood was to actually show us what God is like! Their job was to “be” God to us because, as children, that is literally how we perceive our parents. They were to show us what a loving God was like: how He meets our needs physically but also emotionally.  

But let’s face it: how many of us transitioned into adulthood with a perfect view of who God is based solely on how our parents raised us? I have yet to meet one person who fits that criteria. Our parents did the best they could and yet, because of the sin problem again, they weren’t able to give us the fullest that God had in mind. So we are left emotionally deficient and without a true understanding of the goodness of God.  

The reason I use parents as an example of meeting emotional needs is because I want to challenge us. It was (and still is!) God’s intention that other people were placed on earth to help meet the deep emotional needs that we have, not just God. (After all, God recognized that there was no suitable “helper” for Adam on earth, none that could fulfill him and meet his needs like another human and so he gave Eve to Adam for that purpose.) People aren’t perfect, for sure, and many of us have been deeply wounded by people who were close to us. As a result, it can be really hard for us to trust anyone around us with our emotional needs because the sting of the pain is very real.  

I want to say that there is hope for you! Hope for you to be able to heal from those emotional wounds from your childhood and/or adulthood and begin to see some of the unique people that God has placed in your life right now who could be there to meet some emotional needs for you. God doesn’t want any of us to be starved emotionally. As I have spent several years in a counselors office, doing the hard work of healing wounds, I am starting to recognize the importance of the people around me. Not everyone, but a few handpicked people that are safe for me to be vulnerable with and communicate the needs that I have so that I can get them met. I have three in my life right now who I know that I can be completely honest with and they will champion me and will do what they can to meet the needs I present because we have talked about that as a part of our relationship.  

It is not only permissible but necessary, woman of God, to recognize and seek out getting your emotional needs met, in order for you to live at the highest capacity that God saw from the beginning of time for your life! Wherever you are at right now, I encourage you to start with one small step today to see those needs getting met. That could mean picking up the phone or meeting for coffee with a friend that you already know is safe and taking a step of vulnerability with them. It could mean having a few awkward and uncomfortable talks with your spouse to let them see what’s inside of you, or it could mean that you may see that one of your needs is some counseling and therapy to help you move forward (it is the best and most loving thing I have done for myself in the past two years!). But please, PLEASE don’t go another day ignoring the beautiful and valuable needs that lie inside of you because a bright, new day lies just around the corner for you, holding the possibility of living fulfilled in such a way that you never could have imagined! 

Redefining Healing

By Tiffany Bleger

A little over a year ago, I had the opportunity to spend six days away with God in the wilderness. It was a beautiful time of healing for my soul and my heart. I had taken the last of my depression medication while I was away, and knew I needed to refill the prescription when I got home. But I also knew that we didn't have the money to afford it right then. I had not gone more than a few days without the medicine in years. Those times that I had were not pretty. But, I clearly heard His voice whisper, "Trust Me in this."  And so I did. 

One day became two. Two became a week. Before I knew it, I had gone a month without the medicine. It was hard. Withdrawals are neither easy nor pretty, let me tell you! But I had done it, leaning on that promise of "Trust Me". The time came when we had the money to afford the prescription again. But when I asked Father, His reply of "Trust Me" told me all I needed to know. It was clear that I was not to go back on the medication.

I mistakenly took God's promise of "Trust Me" to mean that He was going to completely remove the depression immediately. So, when that first bad bout of darkness overwhelmed me again, I thought I had failed. I thought that somehow I had messed up and God changed His mind. That I wasn't worthy of receiving healing.  I had lived with depression for so long that down days were my normal. Taking the medicine had helped keep the darkness at bay, but it also numbed me. I didn't feel the bad as deeply, but I didn't feel joy either. However, as Father began this journey of healing and restoration, I began to experience true good days. They were refreshing. They were sunshine and warmth to my soul. And they went against everything the lies of perfectionism and depression were screaming. Clearly, God hadn't abandoned me. He was healing me, just not like I expected. 

I've now gone almost 14 months without the medication. There is absolutely no way I could have done this under my own power. I could barely function on my own with the medicine! Each time the darkness returns, and it has, I learn a little more. I learn to reach out to Him sooner. I learn to reach out to my family and friends sooner.  I learn to identify the darkness sooner. 

My healing has not come how I expected. I never know if the next bout will be the last, or if this battle will continue for a lifetime. Some days it is really hard to have hope, to trust His word over the lies. But I do know now that the bad days will end. That the more I cling to the hem of His garment, the easier it is to climb out of the pit and find the light. 

Recently, Father revealed a lie I had believed. I thought that, in order to be able to talk about depression and encourage other women, I had to be healed. Completely. That I didn't have a testimony to share if I still battled the depression. And then, just this week, Father led me to this verse:

Hmm.  Paul had an amazing testimony. And never really shut up about God. Yet, he had a weakness. A weakness he begged God to remove. That verse was God's reply. God used Paul's weakness, his "thorn in the flesh" to witness to the world. Maybe God can use me. And maybe he can use you. Maybe, just maybe, He wants to take that part of you that breaks your heart and use your journey to help someone else. Maybe, just maybe, He wants to take the parts of your past that causes you shame to show the world His power. May our weaknesses be used for His glory. 

Hopelessness

What is "Hope?"

Merrimam-Webster.com defines hope as the action of a person "to cherish a desire with anticipation" and "to expect with confidence."  

I hope today is filled with peace. I hope my children enjoy their birthdays. I anticipate the sun will rise. I have great confidence that my heart will continue beating.   

Yet there have been times when all hope was gone. I have known depression. I know what it means to not be able to get out of bed because the weight of your soul defies human strength. I know what it is to hide in the closet and embrace the darkness because it matches your emotional state. To walk in a daze, going through the motions of caring for others because they need you. No joy. No pleasure. 

Perhaps "Hopelessness" is merely a synonym for "Depression."   

I've been in a car and thought that others would be better off if I just kept driving - their life we would be better without my brokenness.
I've seen the pain in my husbands eyes as he loved me so deeply and yet
couldn't reach me in my darkness. 

Yes, even thoughts of suicide -- just to make the pain stop. 

In these times of darkness I had no hope that the physical pain would end; that the emotional pain would be healed; that the spiritual pain could be redeemed. I had no expectation that my future would be any better than the hopelessness I felt at that moment.

One spring day, I simply could no longer function. I called my dad to please come get my children for the afternoon. I couldn't take care of them. All I could manage was packing them up, calling my daddy and laying on the bed. 

I was desperate. 

God likes desperate. 

Desperate takes away alternates and leaves only God. 

My soul sighed, "God I cannot live like this. Please remove this from me."

A simple cry from my soul. 

In the next moment the hand of God reached down to me, taking the hopelessness and depression between His pinched fingers and pulling the web that had cocooned me. I physically felt it drawn from my head and toes, my shoulders and knees and leaving me!  

I was free. 

I lay there as tears of release rolled down my cheeks and I fell into a restful sleep. 

And awoke in Hope. 

There have been times that this hopelessness has threatened to return. I look at the suffering around me and wonder if God has a plan. Days my body hurts and I don't know how I'm going to even get dressed and wonder why God doesn't heal me. Moments I grieve over lost relationships and question if God sees the pain.  

Then I remember the day hope returned. I stop looking inward at my pain and grief. I stop looking around at man-made situations. Then I do the impossible - I allow those questions and pain and loss and grief to drive me to the Cross.

                                 

I go to "Jesus, our Hope," (1 Timothy 1:1). 

I know that, "He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed," (Deut. 31:8).

God promises me that, "I will be with you when you pass through waters; and when you pass through the rivers - you will not be overwhelmed. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flames won't burn you,"(Isaiah 43:2). 

Patiently I obey God who tells me that I must "Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him," (Psalm 62:5). 

Today may be tough but I know that "Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off," (Proverbs 23:18). 

I am not forgotten but I am blessed because I am a woman "who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord," (Jeremiah 17:7).

And in the darkest night, my longest day "I will hope continually and will praise Him more and more" (Psalm 71:14).

I wait for Him, cherishing His promises that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him," (Romans 8:28) and that God's plans for me are "for peace and not disaster" and gives me "a future filled with hope!" (Jeremiah 29:11 NOG).  

Our Hope is not in this temporary life. It is not in our human strength, our perceived power, our prayers or in our Faith. 

Our Hope - our cherished desire that we wait for with great anticipation - is eternity with God through the salvation we have in Christ Jesus, the comfort we are given through the Holy Spirit and the restored relationship we have with the Father.

And this Hope changes everything.

There is Power in Vulnerability

By Jen Kline

I am writing today about this word because I believe it is about to change my life. Let me explain.

Growing up it has always been very hard for me to be vulnerable. At some point in my childhood I made a decision that the world around me was not safe and that I needed to protect myself. Protecting myself meant I could not be vulnerable, especially around people. So for years I found ways to avoid being in a place of vulnerability.

I would ignore conflict. I would suppress feelings. I would avoid certain relationships. I would distract myself with being busy and producing and being very involved in anything I could get my hands on. I worked hard and often. I filled my social schedule with anything I could put in it. I did everything big. I even filled the air with my own voice, talking so much in the hopes I could drown out anything that would tell me it was OK to slow down enough to be in a vulnerable place. Sounds exhausting doesn’t it? Well, it was, but let me tell you that what I did as a child and the things I did to protect myself were healthy for me. It was a natural way for me to process all that was happening around me and I’m thankful for it. But 43 years later, it’s exhausting. I’m done. Cashed in. I can’t do it anymore.

This is a new season of facing the vulnerable parts of who I am and this life I have and it’s time to move forward in a way that is good for me. In a way that is real to the people around me and in a way that is honest about my journey with God.

With this journey I am on The Lord is revealing so much to me as I’ve slowed down. He’s spoken beautiful things, brought back precious memories and allowed me to feel a wide range of feelings I was avoiding for all of these years. Often when I am in this place I look to Jesus to see His response to the very human things we deal with, the very hard things on this earth. And I had this thought; When I watched my husband play Jesus in The River Church’s production of The Passion Play, the hardest part of that story for me was when Jesus the Creator of heaven and earth is standing before Pilate and every one is yelling at Him and there is this question as to whether or not they should pick Barabas or Jesus.

My heart aches at this moment every single time. I’m thinking to myself, JESUS! You are GOD! Stand UP! Fight! Do some kind of amazing miracle to save You from this awful fate. Stop them. Change their minds… yell at them! Hit them, run away, and tell them why they are wrong. Tell them who you ARE! Do whatever you have to do to defend Yourself! But He doesn’t. He actually never does. He’s vulnerable. One thing I know about Jesus is His absolute confidence and connectedness to the Father. And I realize the two ingredients Jesus had to always be in a place of vulnerability.

The first is that He was never ashamed of Who He was or what He was there to do. He was present in every moment on earth. He wasn’t distracted or confused. He knew exactly why He was healing, speaking against the Pharisees, challenging the law, and doing things on Sabbath days. He had no shame.

The second is that He knew He was not alone. Even when He begged God to take this cup from Him I believe He knew that God was with Him. He was fully aware of God's presence with Him each and every moment.

If there is power in vulnerability, imagine what that would look like in our families, in our friendships, in our relationships with friends. What if our language and our conversations with our kids were more compassionate and vulnerable? What if we could actually tell our kids that we were having a hard time feeling some emotions, or even cried in front of them? What if we told our husbands the parts of our hearts we’ve been hiding? What if we could tell our friends that we are having a hard time with our finances or that the thing they said to us the other day hurt us? How would we impact each other? How could we impact our community? We wouldn’t have to win all the time; we wouldn’t desire so much control over other people. We could “name” what we were struggling with and let people know what we are about to say to them is very hard and difficult to our hearts. We could listen and we could love people despite their inability to know how to love us well.

It would change our lives.

It wouldn’t make life easier, but I believe that as we really pay attention to the sadness and the difficulties, we would also experience a richer, more vibrant joy in powerful vulnerability.

How Not to Kill a Butterfly

By Jill Palmer
 
Let him struggle
 
A few years ago I read a story about a man who had found a cocoon on a walk and decided to take it home and watch the miracle unfold. One day he noticed that there was a little hole in it and he watched for hours as the butterfly struggled to find it's way out of the cocoon through this tiny little hole. At some point it seemed to stop progressing so the man figured it had done all it could do and went to find some scissors to help it along.

He carefully snipped off the end of the cocoon and the butterfly easily came out. He was surprised, however, to discover that the butterfly's body was swollen and it's wings were shriveled. He expected the wings to dry out in a few hours but they never did. In fact the butterfly was never able to fly.

You see, the butterfly needed to struggle out of the cocoon because that's what helps transform it into the beautiful, flying miracle that it is. The struggle through the hole helps force the moisture from its wings and also helps strengthen them so they can fly.

I never realized that. I never realized the power of the struggle.

I hate struggling. I hate watching others struggle. It's messy and uncomfortable and painful! When it comes to my own walk with the Lord I just want Him to reveal to me the part of me that needs changing, then I'll acknowledge it and allow Him to change it. Done and done.

Except that's not how it has ever worked. Ever.

It's more like "Okay God, I got this. Thanks for changing me." And two days later I'm frustrated because I'm still not healed/changed/patient etc...

Why?!

Why do I have to struggle through this transformation process? Why can't God just come in with His beautiful, giant, gentle scissors and give me a careful little snip that will help me along? I'm tired and weary and ready to give up! This is painful and exhausting.

But He won't pull out His giant scissors because He loves me. He loves me so much He allows me to struggle. He doesn't want me to die - He wants to see me flourish and fly! He knows that my struggle helps to squeeze out the last bit of the "old" me - the selfish me. He knows that the struggle strengthens my wings and teaches me to fly. He's told me in His Word that I am a new creation and frankly I don't really know how to operate in this new freedom - this new life.

So my struggles teach me. They teach me to rely on Him. They teach me that in my weakness He is strong. They teach me that I am loved and that I have a Maker that knows my name, knows my deepest needs and will take care of me.

It's hard though. Hard to struggle. You know what else is hard? Painfully hard? Watching someone you love deeply struggle. Watching your spouse or child or a dear friend or loved one. Watching them struggle to push themselves through this incredible situation knowing there's not a thing you can do about it. You desperately want to rescue them but if you do that they won't be able to live as the new creation they are. The butterfly can't live it's life to the fullest if it doesn't struggle. It will die because the butterfly wasn't made to crawl around and eat leaves anymore. It was made to fly, to drink from gorgeous flowers, to rise above it's old life.

So you sit back and watch and struggle with the uncomfortableness of it all...as you watch the struggle - and the miracle - unfold. And you know that the Creator of all things knows what's going on. He has His hand right in the middle of it and He can be trusted. Even if the situation looks, and is, painful. He knows what we - and they - need and He hasn't forgotten us.

He sees the final picture. The glorious creation He had in mind. And He smiles because He knows we can and will survive...because of the struggle.

Writing Songs, Taking Selah

By Esther Belin

I have been reading through the Psalms the last few days, paying special attention to chapters I normally gloss over – like Psalm 3. This psalm is labeled as “A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.”  (For more about that conflict see 2 Samuel, chapters 15-18.) This notation sets a virulent tone – one of sorrow, tragedy, and confusion. David, the one known as a man after God’s own heart, fully exercises all his emotions in song!

I love how God uses songs as a way to dialogue with Him. Knowing that these psalms incorporate Hebrew poetry and structure makes me so curious to study them in Hebrew – especially because I am appreciative of writing as an art. But I am more appreciative of David as a servant of the Most High God. I wonder at the dialogue between him and God. When God asked David to write about this painful and lonely time, what was David’s reaction? Did he agree readily? Or did an emotional tornado wrench at his body and soul at the thought of reliving that time? 

I appreciate that David not only obeyed God, but that his retelling of this painful time does so in music and poem. Beauty from ashes. When I am in the middle of a painful situation – and I don’t even want to pray (or know what to pray), I can always trust that reading through the psalms gives me hope. I thank our loving Father God that He wants us to be emotionally healthy – God expects us to feel and He also wants us to write our own song of beauty from ashes.  He wants us to be consumed by Him – to refine, to reposition, to rejoice! Crazy hard, but doable (Romans 12:12 ESV).  

Additionally, three instances of Selah are included in this short psalm. Selah generally infers a pause – a rest to take in God’s presence, a meditation.

I love this intentional call for a pause. In this particular psalm, I imagine the Selah as a time to fully cry unto God or fully praise God – either way, a true pouring out of self. I can totally visualize David doing both.   

The verse that comforts me the most is verse 5:

“I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.” When we “cry aloud” to God, He answers us “from his holy hill” that we may “lie down and sleep.” 

God wants to give us rest! He knows the pressures we are under. He not only knows, He sees and hears. Such love. 

The second half compounds on God’s love: He sustains us. Because of all the emotional weight David was bearing I believe the only reason David was able to awaken again is because he poured himself out to God the day before – in tears and in praises.

This is such a good practice. I easily get filled with the weighty yucky stuff of this world – and I am regularly finding out how easy it can be to let God carry my burdens by crying out and by praising Him. The more I take time to Selah and understand God’s love for me, the more obediently I pour out myself to Him. I want to be sustained. I want restful sleep.

At times, I also want revenge for my pain. Verses 6,7 truly speak to that emotion. David embraces God’s command to not fear. Great assurance. I do love the zeal of verse 7. David cheers God on to arise, deliver him, strike his enemies in the jaw, and break their teeth! Great deliverance. David is a wonderful representation of how to lament, express, and seek God. This short psalm literally packs a punch – and I always feel good after reading it. Great relief. 

We are God’s children and He will defend. We are God’s creation and He will strengthen our skills to sing a new song (Ps. 33:3 NKJV). 

Dear Readers, my challenge to you is to write out your song. Song of Lament. Song of Praise. Song of Deliverance. Seek inspiration from David and strength from our Sovereign God. Allow our Almighty, Compassionate Lord and Savior to awaken your heart strings. And please share it – so we can rejoice or weep along with you (Romans 12:15).  

3 Reasons to Keep the Sabbath

By Jill Palmer

For some reason the modern Christian culture is a wee bit terrified of the word Sabbath. Or maybe we aren't terrified of it, maybe we just don't understand it. Either way we don't see the practice of a Biblical sabbath as a necessary part of our Christian walk. I want to challenge that way of thinking.

The word "rest" is a word the Holy Spirit has been echoing in my head over and over for several years now. My physical body, my soul and my spirit have been crying out for rest but my mind just couldn't figure out what that looked like much less how to do it. Like a funnel that starts out wide, so was this idea of rest. And as a funnel narrows, so did this idea, narrowing into the practice of sabbath.

Like many of us, I thought I was already sabbathing. I spend several hours at church on Sundays, not just because I'm the pastor's wife but because I truly enjoy worshiping with my church family. Isn't that what sabbath is? What I discovered through study was far different than my understanding! God wasn't saying to pause and go to church. He said to stop and delight in me. This is a holy day - a day set apart. A day that looks different than every other day of your week.

For me this meant no work (no returning emails or non-emergency communication), no household chores (bills, dishes, laundry etc..), no media (TV, computer, iPads and cell phones). Add in family activities, not to be busy but to be together (includes, but isn't limited to, hiking, biking, playing games, painting etc...), reading time (Bible and other books I want to catch up on), napping (love this one!), slowing down everything! It's a delight to discover what I love to do and what my family loves to do!

And the benefits?! Oh my goodness! God totally knew what He was doing when He included the sabbath in the 10 Commandments.

1) It's about our identity. The Israelites had been slaves for 400 years! Since the time of Joseph they had lived and worked in Egypt. Working for Pharaoh 24/7. Hard, hard labor! Exhausted they cried out to God for a deliverer. God heard their cries and raised up for them a leader - Moses. Moses led his people out of Egypt and miraculously across dry land through the Red Sea. Once there, God gave His people the commandments and established a new nation. Part of their teaching was "self-care" and identity.

This one commandment - the 4th commandment - immediately elevated the Israelites. No longer were they slaves having to work tirelessly every single day. God said to rest. Take one full day off a week. Trust in Him for provision. They are far more valuable than the work they do. They have value and worth because of Who He is. We have value and worth because of Who He is. We are loved, not because of what we do but because of who we are.

No longer are we slaves to this world (money, work, sports etc...). We have love, value and worth because of our Creator. Stopping for a full 24 hours reminds us of our new identity in Christ.

2) It's about loving ourselves. We aren't very good at taking care of ourselves. Truly we don't know our own limitations. Thankfully we know a God Who does. He knows what we are capable of and what we can't possibly do. He knows that we don't fully understand our new identity so we work and work and work trying to prove to ourselves and to others something that He already knows.

Why do we insist on working and serving beyond the point of burnout? In wanting to feel needed and important, we miss the signals that say we are reaching capacity. Instead we try to cram more in. More activities, longer hours. More. And then we reach burnout. Not the destination we were aiming for but because we've missed the signs that say turn before you fall off this cliff, we find ourselves in that exact spot. Mad at people. Mad at the church. Mad at God.

We must listen to, and love ourselves before we reach this point. By intentionally making sabbath a priority we are slowing down to listen to God and ourselves. Are we reaching burnout? If so, we can hear it and act accordingly before we go over the edge.

3) It's about engaging in now. Our lives are inundated with information, media, work...distractions. There is so much noise in the world around us we often miss the now that is happening...well...now! We miss the beauty of a sunset, the smell of flowers, the sound of our loved ones laughing, the feel of gentle sunshine on our faces, the sweet whisper of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, the thrill of doing something we actually love. We miss the now because of the worry of the future or the regret of the past. We spend so much time going from task to task and being concerned about what's happening everywhere else but here. Our senses are on overload!

Sabbath allows us to stop and engage in the now. We don't have to be concerned with a to-do list or what's next list. We can shut out the noise and listen to the things that are quieter and oftentimes sweeter. We can hear what's really inside of ourselves and inside of our loved ones. We can hear the sweet voice of Jesus reminding us who we are, His love for us, He plans for us, the battles He wins for us. It anchors us and brings us back to now.

The sabbath is an invitation from the Lord to enter into His rest. It's not a duty or a responsibility. It's a delight! And I believe it's life-changing. 

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. 

Psalm 23:1-3a

A beautiful reminder from my Shepherd.

Seeds: Mystifying Mini Marvels

By Tawna Wilkinson                                                                                                
                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                        

Did you know that seeds, those tiny, motionless, boring-looking things are in reality mystifying, mini marvels packed with life? Laboratory scientists have studied, dissected and microscopically peered into the seed coat of different kinds of seeds all over the globe and continue to be baffled by the activity they find; like the breathing, eating and drinking seeds do. 

That’s right, scientists have found that seeds - no matter what size, shape, or texture - breathe by absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere. They drink by soaking up moisture in the air and eat by using the moisture to turn stored up chemicals they have in their cells to food. And while they are waiting to sprout, they know exactly how much of it to do.

What’s more, each of these crunchy wonders, though it hasn’t sprouted, is an entire plant. It’s just in its embryonic or beginning form. Scrunched up inside the hull of a seed is a very small plant with all its teeny tiny plant parts. The leaves of the seed are called cotyledons. These are the first two leaves you see when the plant sprouts. The cotyledons are wrapped around and attached to a small stem, a tiny leaf bud, and a root tip.

Throughout the fall season and freezing winter, the tiny plant stays in its protective seed coat with its cotyledons wrapped around itself like a cozy blanket. It breathes, drinks, and eats while patiently waiting for spring.  When spring does arrive, the rain and sun, water and warm the ground. 

Then, when conditions are just right, the root tip breaks through the seed’s hull and grows downward, while the cotyledons stretch for the sun. The lifeless-looking wonder sprouts into a seedling. The summer season matures the seedling into an adult plant. It blossoms and bears fruit with hundreds, sometimes thousands, more seeds full of the same packed life it had.

So the next time you see a seed, one of those tiny, motionless, boring-looking things, remember, though your eyes cannot see it, there is surprising activity going on inside that mystifying, mini marvel that still has scientists scratching their heads.