The Preschool Science Experiment That Changed My Life

Laura Booz: Hi there. You’re listening to Expect Something Beautifulwith Laura Booz.

One thing you might not know about me yet is that I earned my Bachelor of Science in Biology. That means I have logged my hours in the laboratory. There were weeks when I was breeding fruit flies and studying their genes. 

I created smokey explosions in tested tubes with chemicals, whose names I can’t even pronounce. I dissected crayfish and earthworms and cats. And for a little stint there, I even worked for a pharmaceutical company where I tested medicines on lab rats. Some of those medicines you might even use today, and I really hope they are working for you.

But the science experiment that changed my life did not happen in a laboratory, but it happened when I was a young mom. I was home with my four-year-old and my two-year-old. I was just starting to understand what motherhood was all about. I wanted to teach my little girls about seeds and plants in the garden. 

So, we did this little science experiment, and I’ll tell you all about it so you might do it too. We put some wet paper towels in a clear cup. Then we took this cute, dry, little kidney bean and slid it down the side of that clear cup so it would be moistened by the wet paper towels, but we could see it through the side of the cup. 

At first, the seed just looked so like a seed. It was red and cute and neat and tidy, just like it always had been. But then after a couple of days, it started to swell. Its skin started to pucker and change. The seed started to grow and split open. Things looked really bad for this seed. I mean, my heart went out to it. 

But then one morning, we came down and checked in on our seed. I couldn’t believe my eyes. This beautiful sprout was bursting through the seed. Green leaves were curling upward, little roots were crawling out looking for more water and nutrients. How that little seed had transformed in such a short period of time was astounding to me. 

And over the next couple of days, it grew even more. The shoot burst up through the cup. After a while, we transplanted it to the garden where it grew into a regular bean plant. It grew more beans and had more seeds, for more life to grow. 

Now, when I went back to look for that original seed, you know, it wasn’t there. There was no sign of that original seed, because it went down into the ground and died. When I saw that, it reminded me of something Jesus said that we read in the book of John chapter 12. 

Jesus was sharing with his disciples; it was shortly before His death. He was explaining why He was about to die, and He was urging His disciples, including you and me, to follow His example. Here is what He says: 

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.

You will find that in John 12:24–26. Here, Jesus is reaching out to people who want everything He has to offer. People like you and me, who want to love God, who want to be remade in His image, do good works for His kingdom, love people for His sake. He’s saying the only way we get to truly live is through My death. If you want to bear good fruit, do as I do, and lay down your life.

Soon after Jesus spoke these words, He died, and was buried in the ground like a grain of wheat. Then, God raised Him from the grave, and He sprang forth with abundant life. That He would bear much fruit is the understatement of the ages. By laying down His life, Jesus produced a staggering amount of fruit. And Scripture is replete with what He has done.

I saw this at play in that preschool science experiment. The simile of what it takes for a grain of wheat to bear fruit, helps us to understand what Jesus has done to secure our eternal life. And consequently, what happens in us as we walk with Him, through our Christian lives. First, we place all of our hope in Jesus, who died, and rose again for us. And then like Him, we lay down our lives to serve Him and to serve others for His sake.

Every day He invites you and me, or rather plunges us into a calling to lay down our lives for others. Sometimes the pull is so strong, it barely feels optional, do you know what I mean? 

Selflessness is one of God’s gifts to His children. It doesn’t always feel like a gift, but if you think about it, Christians change the world with their love, and that’s profoundly good. 

But is that all there is to our Christian life? Is selflessness the epitome of it all? Is selflessness the end game? I don’t think it is. Jesus makes one thing abundantly clear, selflessness is not the end game, it’s the beginning of something glorious. 

When we lay our lives down for His kingdom, we do truly suffer, and we keenly feel each loss. But Jesus employs every hour of lost sleep, every ounce of physical wear and tear, every emotional up and down, every financial sacrifice, every act of service, to blessedly rid us of ourselves, and make us more like Him. 

He tends us like a garden, causing us to bear good fruit like: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Under His care, we become whole-hearted, generous, and brave. Life begins to make sense. Our presence at home and abroad suggests His presence is there too. 

Who could possibly produce this much growth from one surrendered seed? From you? From me? God alone. When Jesus laid His life down in the ground, when He was buried and then when He burst through with life, what He earned for us, what He bought for us, was eternal life. And John 17:3 says, “This is eternal life, that they know you, God, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

His selflessness, his sacrifice, burst forth with the fruit of our salvation, and our sanctification, and our future with God in heaven and on the new earth. Every spring as the soil warms and the little seeds go down into the earth to die, and they too spring forth with life, may we remember the good work that Jesus has done on our behalf and the good work He calls us to every day. 

For me, I’ve learned a lot of that principle through motherhood. Those little girls, the four-year-old and two-year-old, who did that preschool science experiment with me, are now teenagers. We’re learning the principle together and walking in the light of God’s Word side by side. 

I write about those ideas and what it’s been like to mother all six of my children in my new book, which is called, Expect Something Beautiful: Finding God’s Good Gifts in Motherhood. I hope you get yourself a copy and read it and love it. As for what’s going on at Revive Our Hearts, we’re all about the “Husband Encouragement Challenge,” because at Revive Our Hearts, we’ve heard from countless wives who have performed their own science experiment. We challenged women to take on a thirty-day challenge to say one encouraging thing to their husband every day. We have heard from so many women who have watched their marriages blossom after this challenge. 

And you know what? I did this husband encouragement challenge many years ago, and it has been transformative. I can’t recommend it enough. You don’t have to be married to take this challenge. You could take this challenge to your friendships, or with parenting, but I’d love for you to learn more about it in a book called The 30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge. The book will walk you through the process of taking this challenge and will give you ideas for how to encourage your husband. 

When you support Revive Our Hearts with a donation of any amount, we’ll send you a copy of the book, plus you’ll be helping to make podcasts like Expect Something Beautiful possible. Just visit ReviveOurHearts.comto make your donation and request your copy of the The 30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge.

Expect Something Beautiful is a production of Revive Our Hearts, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.