It Takes a Long Time to Grow
by Celene Melenciano
Good morning, boys and girls. Happy Sabbath. hope you’re excited to be here today and to listen to your story.
Have you ever seen a seed grow into a beautiful plant or a tree? I am growing a couple of trees. So let me show you. First, we have a seed, right? Here’s a seed, nothing to it, right? It came out of an avocado. I have a piece of an avocado here. See, there’s a seed. So We took it out, put it in water. So it’s got in a, it has a different color because it’s been in water for several weeks and it now has a crack right through the middle because something is starting to sprout in there. I have this seed that already has several roots right there. As you can see, this one has been in water from six to eight weeks. And then we have other ones here. These just have roots. All there are roots on this one as well. But this one has a crack right in the middle right there and you can actually see the little tree right there coming out. Can you see that? He’s been in water for about two months. And as you can see, I have several other ones. This one has already a little tree up here. It’s growing. It’s got a little, what looks like it’s going to be a little leaf. Same with these two. Here’s one on this one. This one has two. This one has twins. So this is a going to be a big tree as well. And then this one’s been in water a little bit longer than those other ones. So this one actually has a leaf up there. If you could see that there’s a little leaf. Okay. And we have some that have been here for months. Actually, this one’s probably about two months or so. Give or take. I can’t even remember. It’s been here for so long. So it’s got its roots. Here’s your seed. Here is your big old stem. This is our tree. And here are beautiful leaves. They’re still growing. Okay, but we have one here who has leaves that have actually grown already. Look at this one. Aren’t they beautiful green and brown leaves right there. Okay, so this one’s a lot bigger than the other one. And this has taken me a long time to get them. There’s been a lot of care making sure they have water, they have proper sunlight.
But these not are all the trees I have. These are the ones I’m starting. I actually have bigger ones. So you could see some trees right there. So there’s one in a small pot. That one’s been there between six to eight months. The next one has been two to three years and the other one probably four to five years. So they’ve been there for a while. I’ve had to make sure that they have proper water, proper fertilizer, proper… Like there’s a special… not medicines, but something you could give them to make them stronger and to grow nice and pretty.
Once our trees have grown to that size or maybe even bigger, we could put them in the ground. If you have enough space to put them in the ground, you can do that. Or you can actually put them in some bigger pots. They do give fruits in pots. Okay, so that will that will happen.
Sorry for some reason, this is the one to stay. And then you can actually get your avocados. These avocados I have here are all from a tree coming from my dad’s house. So, and these are all different trees he has and these is what I’m doing. I want to make these avocado trees grow.
Now growing avocados kind of reminds me of what it is to be a parent. I’m still a parent. I still have children and my children are grown, but it took me a long time to, you know, it took years for them to grow, obviously, and it took a lot of patience on my part and a lot of care. Okay. I needed to make sure they were well fed, that they were taking, you know, drinking enough water, that they were doing their exercise and it just a lot of patience, a lot of love and a lot of teaching them as well, how to be good people.
You know, the Bible talks a lot about, you know, has a lot of verses, many of them about two fathers and mothers and some two children and some from God. Let me share one with you that is made for us parents. OK. And this one is found in Proverbs 22, six. It says, start children off on the way they should go. And even when they are old, they will not turn from it. So God is telling us to teach you. to teach you to be loving, be kind, to be compassionate, to share with others, not just what you have, but what you know, and to share your love, and to be good people. And as we teach you, you will actually then continue on that path as you get older. Did you know that trees tend to sometimes grow, you know, kind of to the side or crooked or… or just the weird and you have to actually teach them. You could see this one. This one is growing sideways. You see that it’s growing sideways. So I have to continuously just keep moving it around and keep trying to shape it to go the right way. And that’s what parents are instructed to do, to instruct you, to shape you, to love God and be a loving person. And also there’s verses for Children. So let me share one for us as children. It’s problems one eight. It says here my son, your father’s instruction and forsake not your mother’s teaching. In other words, listen to your parents, listen to them. They want the best for you. They’re trying to teach you the best that they can, the best that they know. And part of it is God’s love and how to love others. So listen to your parents. and do as they say when it is all for the glory of God. And also there’s one that I love because our greatest father, our biggest father, one that will always be with us and loves us more than even our parents do is God.
And there’s one verse that tells us, 2 Corinthians 6, 18 says, and I will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me. says the Lord Almighty. Isn’t that beautiful? That he calls us his sons and his daughters. And because of that, he loves us so much. He loves us because we are his children. He loves us because he created us and he wants the best for us. So just as it’s taken patience and a lot of care for me with these little trees, and it’s taken the same for me with my children, our parents do the same with us. all the time. They always want the best for us and they love us. And it’s the same thing with God. He wants the best for us. He loves us. And He is our number one Father. Never forget that.
Let’s go ahead and pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your love and for sharing that with us and allowing us to share that with others. We pray now that you guide these children as they continue their week, that you bless them, that you love them, that you help them love and that they spread kindness and the best of themselves wherever they go. We love you, Jesus. In your name we pray, amen.
Thank you, boys and girls. Have a wonderful week. We’ll see you next time.