By QuaWanna Bannarbie

Two weeks ago, I committed to writing a series about seeds. This is the second installment in that series. It follows last week’s column, in which I shared about the purpose of seeds.

My earlier writing established that seeds have limitless possibilities for growth and development. We do not purchase seeds to keep them in packages. To awaken the life that is inside them, planters establish a place to “put their roots down.” We provide a place for the seed to abide. This week’s column reflects on the provision for the seeds.

For seeds to come out of dormancy, they must have the right conditions. Much of the success of a gardener’s harvest can be attributed to the work done in preparing the growing place or the garden bed. This effort starts months before the first seeds go into the ground. For me, this process has several steps. It involves gathering compost to mix into the soil. My family and I also purchase bagged or organic soil to add to the garden bed. Most importantly, we till the soil so that the soil from last year, the compost and the new soil are mixed together well. Experts say that fertilizer is important to the success of a garden. I am not fond of chemical enhancements for fertilization. However, I have opted to add fertilizer to the soil during the bedding preparation process prior to planting anything. I believe this is the best way to prevent harming the immature growth of my plants, particularly in the root development stage.

Every seed that grows does so in a prepared place. We may think that this is not the case for wild flowers or other plants that grow voluntarily. Seeds are smart. A seed knows its needs for release and growth. To become the plant inside of it, the seed seeks nutrients from the place it grows. All seeds make an exchange with its environment. When the environment is conducive for development, the seed begins its process of exchange. For seeds to germinate, there is an exchange of gases between the soil and the water. They need oxygen and produce carbon dioxide. Many seeds have a membrane around them that is permeable to water and oxygen, meaning that they absorb water and oxygen. In doing so, the seed is connecting to these agents for reaching its full potential. Even if a gardener has not made a bed for the seed, if the seed finds the nutrients it needs around it, it will produce a seedling. Seeds have need of temperature, water, air and soil to grow. Of course, there are other factors that contribute to a seed’s growth, but these four are its primary foundation for a strong start. Seeds must connect with some powerful agents in the earth to develop.

It is interesting to me that an immature seed is this wise to connect to such power in its early stage of development. You must ask yourself, if a seed knows to seek after the agents it needs to grow, what about us?

I have stated before that the community we live in is representative of the soil we need to grow. There are people in this community who are connected to your purpose. There are people you have not met who are connected to your purpose. Some will find you, and some you will need to seek.

Seeking is a manner of growing seeds. Whether you are studying God’s word, researching a topic for school or learning from a professional or spiritual mentor, you are sowing into your life. Sowing should not be regarded as only the spreading of seed, but it is the extension of that initial planting. As you seek further, you are absorbing things that you need for your development.

Like seeds, we grow in prepared places. It is vital that you continue to cultivate a place for growth. Establishment of a growth place happens when you intentionally make exchanges with people and resources in your life in such a way that will produce good fruit. I urge you to make provision for growth and continue to cultivate the place where you established roots. Your community needs you, and you need community to release the potential inside of you.

QuaWanna Bannarbie is an adjunct professor of Nonprofit Leadership and Management with Indiana Wesleyan University, National and Global. Her children attend Suffolk Public Schools. Connect with her via Twitter @QNikki_Notes.