A Blessing in a Bag
There is no way of knowing what beautiful blossom is hidden in the heart of the most unlikely of seeds. Cultivate the seed to enjoy the blossom. Destroy the seed and with it the blossom. The same is true of human life. There is no way of knowing what greatness resides in the most unlikely of infant lives.
Quantrill’s Raiders were the best-known of the guerilla bands that emerged after the Civil War. These groups were known as bushwhackers. One of the most notorious in the west was led by William Quantrill. At one time Jessie and Frank James were members. They raided ranches and kidnaped slaves to resell.
They raided the farm of Moses and Susan Carver near Diamond Grove, Missouri, in 1864 and carried off Mary, one of their most beloved slaves, and her infant child. Mr. Carver resolved to find her and redeem her. After an extensive effort, he arranged a rendezvous with the raiders to negotiate their release. Mary was never seen again. As they were parting, Quantrill threw a sack to Carver saying, “Here take this.” Later opening the sack he saw a tiny baby inside, it was Mary’s little son.. He held the infant to his chest all the way home to keep it warm.
The Carvers cared for the child resolving to see to it that he was educated.
The Carvers’ foster child proved to be an excellent student and did well in school eventually graduating from what is now Iowa State University. Because of his knowledge of plants, he was appointed to the faculty after graduation. Today, that infant in the sack is known as George Washington Carver, yes, “the George Washington Carver.” What a loss to society it would have been if that child had not survived. Every person considering an abortion should give thought to “who” they are aborting and what contribution the child might make to society.
George Washington Carver was a blessing in a bag.
He became an inventor, chemist, botanist, and in general a scientist. As a man of faith, he said he prayed, “God, show me the mysteries of the universe.” God replied, “How about the mysteries of the peanut? That’s more your size.” He is reputed to have discovered 300 uses of the peanut and hundreds more for soybeans and pecans, and one hundred uses of the sweet potato. Among the peanut products were peanut butter and healing oils for tuberculosis.
George Washington Carver became an American agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was the most prominent black scientist of the early 20th century.
In 1897, he was invited by Booker T. Washington to be the director of agriculture at Tuskegee Institute where he made most of his discoveries and lived out his productive life. He is buried near his friend and fellow transformer, Booker T. Washington.
He became the first African-American to have a memorial built in his honor; it stands on the farm where he was born.
That little sack of seed produced a formidable crop worth recognizing during Black History Month. Enjoy the blossom.