Is that a forest in your to-go cup? No, it’s a bonsai! Bonsai are tiny trees. They have all the detail of the towering trees we see every day. If you see a photo of a bonsai, you might not realize how small it really is.

Japanese people have grown bonsai as an art form for 1,000 years. Some bonsai grow about six inches tall. Others reach two feet. The littlest specimens might actually fit in a to-go container. But a bonsai grower probably wouldn’t put one there! Bonsai growers tend their plants with utmost care. They regularly prune the roots and crown to maintain a small and pleasing appearance.

One bonsai, called the white pine, is older than any human. It began growing in 1625. This tree should need a cane and dentures by now, don’t you think? It has spent some of its 400-year life in Hiroshima, Japan. It was there when the United States bombed the city in 1945. Many people died there. But the white pine lived. A Japanese bonsai master gave the tree to the United States after peace was restored between the countries.

Today many people want bonsai. They display them in their houses as art. To have them, some even pay millions of yen (Japanese money). Some foreigners travel to Japan to learn how to grow bonsai. It takes practice! Every bonsai is unique. The more care put into one, the more the plant flourishes.

God made the Earth to produce plants. He called those plants “good.” Do you believe God can see things as little as bonsai trees? He can. Not only that—He crafted every molecule that composes them. Like the bonsai masters of Japan, He cares for his creation. Have you ever seen a bonsai? Would you like to plant one?