Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) ~ In Its Time
My Christmas Cactus was a bit
of a let down this year. Winter finds
this plant covered in bright scarlet flowers, but this year it sprouted only a
few buds, and they were duds. Yet now in
the late spring, when all the other flowers are blooming, it has finally burst
into bloom! Seeing this one precious
cactus flower made my heart thrill more than all the flowers outside. Even though it was late, it was worth waiting
for. This flower was by far the most
beautiful of any it has bore before.
I am a bit like this cactus
plant. I look out my window at passers-by
and wonder “Am I good enough? I don’t
have so much money as her, or prestige as him, or intelligence as them…” It is encouraging to remember where I am
planted; because where you are planted makes all the difference. The poet David wrote: “I am like a green olive tree flourishing
in the house of God.”[1]
Jeremiah said:
“Blessed is the
man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree
planted by water, that
sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat
comes, for its
leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does
not cease to bear
fruit.”[2]
What an encouragement that God delights in us, simply
because we are His! He is the one who
tends us, and you can bet there isn’t a better gardener than the King of
Gardens! We may not have as many
blossoms as other people, we may not be as tall or leafy. Perhaps we were chewed on by a beetle and one
of our stems is droopy. But God delights
in us because we are flourishing in His house.
How often do we get caught up in “when?!”. When will we get that promotion, when will we
get out of this dump, when will we meet that someone? But we must wait on the Lord who “has made everything beautiful for its own time.”[3]
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