People plant but don't 'grow' vegetables

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth."
Paul's first letter to the Corinthians chapter 3, verse 6

Today's post is a slight deviation from my previous writing; please let me know what you think.

So far, I've tried to refrain from saying that gardeners grow things. Instead, I've written how people "plant," "sow," and "garden." Sure, gardeners weed, remove rocks, water, plant, till, fertilize, compost, and harvest. Breaking ground and tilling is sweaty and dirty. Pulling weeds is back-breaking and knee-hurting. Watering is tiring and tedious. Gardeners work hard. And most of the time, they can taste the fruits of their effort.

 Image credit: chatirygirl

But the turbines in the cells inside the plant do the impossible magical hard work of actually growing the stem to steady the whole plant; multiplying leaves to suck in more sunlight; lengthening the roots to solidify the plant's foundation and take in more water; bearing fruit and seeds to plant the next generation and create compost for next year's garden. It's a Biblical perspective that science backs up—people work, but the growing itself is a hidden process.

  Image credit: Southern Foodways Alliance

I hope there have been at least a few times when you have stood with dirt under your fingernails in your garden as the sun sinks, then gone to bed only to look at the garden again in the morning to see visible growth since the last night. If you haven't seen your garden grow over night, I hope you see it this year. I hope you witness the ancient mysterious process of growth, one that the Bible can use as an illustration, science can explain, but only nature can carry out.