New Growth
Have you noticed that new growth is often red?
New Growth in Plants
The maple above hasn’t leafed out yet, initially the new growth is a temporary, bright red bud that drops off in a week or so, depending on the weather. I noticed that the areas of new growth on my Christmas cactus is a deep red and slowly changes to green over time.
Of course, not all plants, but many are the same: potato, asparagus, strawberries. My rhododendrons are that way and so many other things. Some bloom with new growth in orange or yellow flowers before bearing fruit, like squash and cucumber.
In People
We start out red, like jasper, a reddish brown, marbled stone. Tiny, premature babies have rather transparent skin, revealing their muscles and tendons etc. Our skin thickens in the third trimester to that of what we look like at birth, but earlier we have the look of jasper. Revelation 4:3 says that the One seated on the throne had the appearance of red jasper.
I imagine the possibility that God doesn’t have the same kind of skin covering as we do. At the fall, He is said to have made tunics of skin to cover them. Perhaps, skin color, type, and appearance is irrelevant, except that it helps us to differentiate one another more easily.
In Animals
New growth in baby animals is similarly red prior to birth. The skin, hair, and nails grow over the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. New hatchlings of some birds appear red before their feathers dry out. Pandas and polar bears: all sorts of animals start out reddish and kind of transparent. You can make out the tendons and muscles under the skin.
Ethereal Growth
Growth in personal or professional relationships, learning new things, stretching and investing financially, developing new habits, creating art: these are the kinds of growth that may not always be objectively quantifiable. Maybe with brain scans, we could actually see that growth, but other than demonstrating skills or results, growing in theses ways isn’t obvious to everyone.
It feels red, though. Maybe it is just my personality. It could be that I am the type of person that physically feels experiences more than others, but new growth can be painful and raw.
My husband an I take ballroom dance classes. Sometimes, in the class, there may be a student who is frustrated with a new set of steps. They might get red in their face or ears. You see that in children, straining to grasp a concept in school or intensely uncomfortable in a new experience. They aren’t growing physically, but they are often growing in an unobservable or ethereal way.
Once we get the hang of the new thing, we are still ‘green’ for a while. Tender-footed and unsure, at first, we might blush or get flustered. This is normal. If we have experienced any kind of abuse, especially child abuse, this might be compounded, but if we can grasp the concept that it’s natural for everyone, it might make it a bit easier. It has for me.
I easily and readily laugh at myself. I remember when my friends noticed me laugh during a gathering. They pointed it out to me because they had known me for almost a year and had not seen me laugh. That was 25 years ago. I can still be serious, but I enjoy life now. Even the red parts. I’m entering another one this spring.
How about you? What are your thoughts about new growth?