Albino Milkweed

Talking a walk in the country recently, we came across a completely white, ghostly looking, milkweed. At first, I thought it was dead, but upon closer inspection, I could see that it was not only alive, but ready to flower. It was clearly an albino milkweed. These plants are not particularly common since photosynthesis cannot occur without chlorophyll, the pigment lacking in an albino plant. Generally, an albino plant will not live for more than a week or so. The only exception is a plant that is parasitic, living off of another plant. Milkweed can reproduce sexually, through pollination, seed production and dispersal. And it can reproduce asexually through rhizomes, underground stems from which a new plant will sprout. Clearly, the albino milkweed sprouted this way and is still living this way, continuing to get it’s nourishment through the parent plant.

We do not like to think of ourselves as parasites, but our lives, too, depend on living in the strength of our Father. He has given us life and we thrive as we grow in Him. He is our sustenance!  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5