The Fantastic Journey of the Little Cotton Seed that Could
Saturday, June 8th, 2013
Push rewind to come to a sunny backyard in Miami about three months ago. I was standing in my brother and wife’s backyard when I spotted a scrawny looking tree that was covered with little fluffy puffs of white. I was intrigued all of these puffs of white on the tree, and scattered about at its base.
I picked up one of the fluffs and pulled the strands apart to find dark black seeds. Each puff held about 4-6 seeds. I asked my brother what plant is this? He answered that it was cotton.
I had never seen a cotton plant before. It was amazing how the Creator provided the earth with a simple plant that we can then harvest and spin into thread. I was astonished. It really was looking at a tree covered in cotton balls.
A few days later I was out in his backyard again, and I collected some of the cotton and took about a dozen black seeds, wrapped them in a piece of paper and packed them away with all my goods to lug back to Tokyo.
When the weather started to warm a bit I placed about four of the seeds in a little black potting cup, and waited. Nothing happened. Two weeks pass by and still no growth in the pots. I pretty much had given up, and decided to place a few more of the seeds in the cup. The very next day, my wife tells me that one of the seeds from the previous batch had sprouted. I was joyous and thanked the Creator for the little cotton seed that could.
In the late glow of the setting sun, we replanted this little 6 inch (15 cm) seedling, into a proper sized pot. I am thankful to have been able to bring a small piece of my brother’s family and transplant it to my family in the suburbs of Tokyo.