I do not dare answer once and for all the question “Does size matter?” Nor place a definitive response to “Nature vs. Nurture.” What I do know, I will share with you. I have over three dozen plants raging in all sizes. Since I live in a city and cannot have a proper garden, I have surrounded myself with potted plants, contained rose shrubs, and even portable citrus trees. Of the plants that I have fostered, three of them are identical. Well, in name, at least. They are my Peace, Lilies. And just as Goldilocks and the three bears, they come in the following sizes: small, medium, and large. These three identical in the plant genome, yet individual in growth, have taught me that size may not matter as much as you think. And that nurture may have a bigger impact than nature after all.

The largest of my three Peace Lily stands beautiful and tall in my room. When I began my plant journey, I asked which plant would be suitable for inside. I wanted a plant in my bedroom. The fact that they clean up the oxygen that I breathe in was a huge motivator. Also, I wanted something alive in my presence. The plant that was recommended to me was the Peace Lily. Another hard and fast sell was the low maintenance aspect of the plant. I have been known to be an accomplice of multiple plant deaths.

I’ve mentioned in a previous post that I could not be charged with being a green thumb. Peace Lily’s let you know when they are thirsty. I witnessed it myself, and the plant drooped as if it had lost its’ best friend. Its beautiful emerald green leaves just sagged to their lowest possible depth. I understood their request and quenched their thirst. Within a matter of hours, the plant receiving that refreshing stream of life apparent, the Lily was raising its leaves to the sky (well, ceiling anyway).

So I enjoyed my time with this plant that I ended up purchasing two more of the same plant. I placed one in my office and one outside. All three are beautiful in their own right. However, they are not all growing at the same level. You see, the giant one in my room sees no sun. Only the dim light from my lamp provides the light that it receives.

The next size up is medium and lovely. This one receives moderate sunlight because it sits by a window at my desk. I was excited the other day because I could see little white bulbs being formed in it. My large room Peace Lily had only green leaves. This medium-sized plant with moderate exposure to sunlight formed the bulbs that would blossom into beautiful cylindrical-shaped flowers.

Imagine my surprise when I was watering the plants on my porch, and there, no more than 3 inches of the plant, was the smallest Peace Lilly with a fully bloomed flower. This tiny one receives the most sunlight. It is direct, and it lives outside, not isolated from other plants.

I was delighted. But then I stopped to think that not only was it the smallest, but it was the youngest. It received the same amount of water as the other plants did for its’ size. Yet it was lightyears ahead of its’ elders. The only difference was that this plant had direct access to the sun.

When God called the nation of Israel out of slavery from Egypt and into a relationship based on love and freedom, He told them: It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,” Deuteronomy 7:7. It was the love of God, and the scripture states that He is the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2) that caused the least or the smallest nation to become one of the amazingly blessed and honored people in the entire universe.

It was not their size that mattered, but their exposure to the “Sun.” So, take a look at your life and where you are situated. How much sunlight are you being exposed to, and what can you do to not just survive but bask and thrive in His presence?