Last September Stephen received a packet of chilli seeds as a birthday present and planted these in the little container which came with the present. The instructions said the seeds would take 3-4 weeks to grow. We had almost given up hope when in November, signs of life appeared:
By the end of December, there were definite signs of growth:
By about March, we transferred (with some trepidation) these three fledgling chilli plants to a larger growth pot and continued to watch in fascination as they grew. Based entirely on their size, we named them ‘Daddy plant’, ‘Mummy plant’ and ‘Runty’, for the third plant was decidedly lagging behind in terms of size. (Whether these names mean anything to the plants is debatable, but it helped us to identify them and if Adam got to name all living creatures, we thought we’d join the story!)
For many months, the plants just grew and grew, tended lovingly by Stephen, who would water them and turn the pot around so that the sun could shine on them.
Mummy and Daddy grew enormously; Runty is still struggling in size. However, after a health scare in May when he appeared to have died and flopped alarmingly, he has now started to grow again:
Then came the magic moment in May when buds appeared on the plants:
Then flowers came!
And finally we can see the beginnings of a recognisable chilli!
There is a long way to go yet, but these chilli plants are proving to be a vivid pictorial reminder of the truths we learnt about spiritual growth earlier this year. Spiritual growth is an organic, natural process. It cannot be rushed and will be faster for some people than for others. It is almost impossible to believe that these three seeds were planted at the same time, for the growth rate has varied so much. ‘Mummy Plant’ is now considerably taller than ‘Daddy Plant’, despite lagging behind for so long (Daddy is now concentrating on producing chillies; Mummy has only just started to bud). Runty is still so much smaller that it would be easy to give up hope, but despite being spindly and weak-looking, his leaves are now peeking over the top of the plant box. All three are growing, even if the rate appears so markedly different.
There is considerable differences in the pace of growth between these three plants, but the process of growth is the same. They all need water, light, space, nutrients from the soil and warmth to grow. They have all grown upwards towards the light first, their leaves curving elegantly towards the sun. Their stems, so flimsy and spindly initially, have thickened before the buds could appear. First the bud, then the flower, then the fruit. This process of growth, given by God, carries on inexorably; the only thing we have had to do other than ensure water and light and warmth were provided is to pollinate the flowers because the plants are growing indoors where no bees are present.
When the conditions are right, growth inevitably occurs because that is how God designed it to be. Growth, remember, is God’s Regeneration Outworked With The Holy Spirit. He is the One ultimately who makes all things grow: ‘I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.’ (1 Cor 3:6-7) So much of growth is slow, unseen, unremarkable. But when we look at the miracle of this little chilli plant growing on Daddy plant, we can definitely marvel at natural growth. How much more should we marvel at this miracle of spiritual growth going on daily in the lives of each one of God’s children!