The Miracle of the Passion Fruit

 In the beginning was the Word, 

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

 He was in the beginning with God;

 all things were made through him,

and without him was not anything made that was made.

 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

 The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it. 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,

(John 1:1-5,14) 

As I meditate over John’s prologue, I wonder about the enthusiasm displayed by our loving father while creating this amazing and resourceful world that we live in.

 So intense is his love for us that all his goodness is expressed in every creation that he sent his word to establish.

As I reflect on the work of our father’s hands, I feel an intense urge to sing the hymn that I once  learnt as a kid.

Great indeed are your works O lord now and evermore

The universe night and day

Tells of all your wonders

You are our life and our light

We shall praise you always

This post is the personal experience shared by Shirley when she experienced the animated love of our father in action.

Oh the wondrous ways in which the Father speaks to us never ceases to amaze me.

"I recently visited and organic farm with my gardening group for a day's session on organic farming. We were welcomed with a passion fruit drink which was refreshing at every sip! At the end of our visit, our host kindly shared many seeds and cuttings of organic vegetables, herbs and fruits. Unlike other seeds the passion fruit seeds are best sown fresh from the fruit. Though I was tired after I returned home, I made it a point to throw the seeds into one of my empty pots. In the next couple of days I realized that the soil in that pot was infested with fungus gnats! These gnats do not allow anything to grow, if seeds sprout, they will be eaten. I realized I had no hope of any of my seeds surviving. In the meantime a friend reported that her seeds had sprouted and I asked her to keep some for me as well. Around 16 days later I began to see sprouts!!! So I took them out immediately and sowed them separately since the gnats were still in that soil. I collected sprouts everyday till I finally reached the count of 19! I decided I had 100% germination and announced the same to my friends. Then I threw the soil into a tray to solarize ( to kill the gnats). After 2 days I went to turn the soil and guess what I got 7 sprouts! and the next day 7 sprouts and the next as well!! So that was 7 sprouts in a row of 3 days!! I suddenly began to wonder what was going on here?? Most of my friends had not much success in germinating and I continue to pick up sprouts from that soil till date. I had reached a count of 43 last and even gave away 2 seedlings and yet I get a sprout even after that!! It is nothing short of a miracle for me. There is no way I could have taken 40+ seeds that day! We had split them among ourselves. The Lord is passionate and greatly to be praised!!!

Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.  The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.  And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. (Gen1:11-13)

The seed bearing plant that led to this post is the Passion flower and the Passion fruit.

Here is a brief about what we have gleaned from the internet about this flower and fruit.

In 1608, Spanish Jesuits formally presented Pope Paul V with a drawing and dried specimens of the passion flower discovered in Peru in 1569. The 16th century scholar Giacomo Bosio described the passion flower as "La Flor de las cinco Llagas," meaning the flower with the five wounds, a direct reference to teachings of the Catholic Church. It is possible that the passion flower was seen as a symbolic teaching tool in the quest to convert the native Indians of Peru to Christianity.

The name and the flower are filled with symbolism.

• The flowers have a direct reference to the crucifixion of our lord Jesus Christ. The five petals and the five sepals are said to represent the 10 apostles Peter and Judas are not included.
• The tip of the leaves suggest the point of the centurions’ spear
• The central flower column denotes the pillar of the scourging.
•  The flower's tendrils resemble the whips used in the flagellation.
• The corona filaments are compared to Christ's crown of thorns.
• The three stigma are called the nails, and the five anthers reflect the five sacred wounds, while the red stains recall the blood of Christ.

It originated in central South America and there are two common types of passion fruits which are consumed.

The purple coloured fruit and the yellow coloured fruit.

The passion fruit is a strong woody vine which climbs up to 15 feet long. The leaves are glossy and have three lobes. The fruit is round and around 2-3 inches long.  When the fruit  ripens the rind which is thick and waxy becomes wrinkly and deep purple with light white specks on it. The yellow passion fruit is larger and has brown seeds.

Health benefits of passion fruit   

• Delicious, passion fruit is rich source of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and fiber. 100 g fruit contains about 97 calories.
• The fruit is a very good source of dietary fiber. 100 g fruit pulp contains 10.4 g or 27% of dietary fiber. Good fiber in the diet helps remove cholesterol from the body. In addition dietary insoluble fiber by acting as bulk laxative helps protect the colon mucous membrane by decreasing exposure time to toxic substances in the colon as well as binding to cancer causing chemicals in the colon.
• Passion fruit is good in vitamin C; provides about 30 mg per 100 g. Vitamin-C (ascorbic acid) is a powerful water soluble anti-oxidant. Consumption of fruits rich in vitamin C helps body develop resistance against flu-like infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.
• The fruit contains very good levels of vitamin-A (provides about 1274 IU per 100 g), and flavonoid antioxidants such as β-carotene and cryptoxanthin-β. Current research studies suggest that these compounds have antioxidant properties and along with vitamin A are essential for vision.
• Vitamin A is also required maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin-A and flavonoids helps to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.
• Fresh granadillas are very rich in potassium. 100 gfruit pulp has about 348 mg of potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids helps regulate heart rate and blood pressure.
• Furthermore, granadilla are very good source of minerals. Iron, copper, magnesium and phosphorus are present in adequate amounts in the fruit.

P.S- I finally got a total of 52 seedlings and I believe I've seen the last of the sprouts. Have still a lot more left to give away. If anyone wants them do let me know.