George Washington Carver was an agricultural scientist in America in the early 1900’s. He was born into slavery but became free when he was just a few years old, after the abolition of slavery in 1865. Through perseverance, a deep faith, and the help of a few folks who saw his potential, George eventually obtained a college education and even a master’s degree in Agriculture. He studied everything he could about plants.
As head of the Agriculture Department at the Tuskegee Institute, he was most famous for his work with peanuts and other legumes, which when planted in soil depleted by cotton crops helped to restore its nitrogen content, making it good for planting again. His crop rotation systems allowed farmers to have multiple, income-producing crops on their farms year over year.
Carver once said of his work with peanuts:
“When I was young, I said to God, ‘God, tell me the mystery of the universe.’ But God answered, ‘That knowledge is for me alone.’ So I said, ‘God, tell me the mystery of the peanut.’ Then God said, ‘Well George, that’s more nearly your size.’”
Sometimes, we think to make an impact, we need to know it all. Stephen Hawking, one of the most famous scientists of the 20th century, was always in search of his “theory of everything”—something that would let him explain the whole universe and everything in it. He never got there.
George Washington Carver’s life is an example to us in many ways—but especially in his humility, and in the wonder and value in learning even the smallest of God’s secrets, even the peanut.
Have a wonderful day.
