Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day. Genesis 1:11-13
It’s something I’ve seen thousands of times in my lifetime, and yet I marvel. Honest-to-goodness, I’m seriously astonished over a pinto bean.
How could I go about my days not seeing the incredible wonder of something so complex and mysterious? The commonplace is astounding when you look at it a little deeper.
I’ve known this for quite a long time now, but I’ve never really noticed it: This pinto bean has everything it needs to become a new plant. God made it that way – he designed each plant whose seed is in itself according to its kind, way back at the beginning of time. Beholding this makes tears come to my eyes.
Though I lack the time to do this justice with a well thought-out and organized post, I wanted to share this beautiful experience with others. It’s just too marvelous, wonderful, and amazing to keep to myself.
All we did was soak some beans and store them in damp paper towels. Then… we observed and witnessed in detail what God created this seed to do. Here’s where we started…
And a few days later, we split a different bean open…
…and this is what lay before us:
Amazing!! There is an entire plant inside the bean!!!
As we continued to grow a different bean, we observed firsthand how the cotyledons (pinto beans have two, hence the term “dicot”) provide just enough food for the baby plant until…
… mature leaves form, allowing the plant to start making its own food through photosynthesis.
Isn’t it amazing?!?
I just can’t get over it! God’s handiwork is everywhere, and I somehow miss it as I go about my days, pressing through the next math concept or the next writing assignment (or the next time my husband returns from Brazil). I pray that God helps me to slow down and recognize more of his glory that’s all around me!
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6
May we diligently seek Him in all we see and do!
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To download a pdf of definitions along with the above images click here.
How to grow a baby bean into a plant:
- Soak some beans overnight. (You may want to soak more than what you actually hope to grow because not all of them will turn out like this!)
- Wrap the soaked beans in dampened paper towel(s).
- Place the paper towel(s) inside a sandwich baggie but do not seal closed.
- Check the paper towel(s) daily to ensure they are still damp (but not soaking), and check beans daily to ensure they are not molding. If they are molding, they are too wet and aren’t getting enough air.
- In a few days, your bean should start to sprout. You can transfer it to a plastic cup (like the one in the plastic water bottle in the picture) so you can observe it more easily. As the cotyledons start to shrink, you can move it to a windowsill (or replant it in soil). Simply marvelous!
A few extension activities: Grow other types of dicot seeds (e.g., a variety of beans) for comparison, continue to attempt to grow a bean that only has one cotyledon still attached, grow a monocot seed (like corn) to see how it differs.