I started saying a simple prayer last year. ‘Lord show me what is dead and what is not.’ As Spring approached last year and things I thought for sure were dead, started blooming, I was stunned.
This year as the blossoms have started coming in, and I walked through the park, I noticed one particular tree. It looked dead and as if nothing were happening with it. Every tree around it had blossoms and the start of leaves. Instead, this one had very dry looking branches and even dry leaves from last year, with no sign of life. Every time I passed it, I looked to see if it were alive. That changed this week as I saw multiple green shoots and new leaves coming from it. I was genuinely happy to see that it was coming in, in its own time.
In my own home I owned about five orchid plants. Recently as I looked at them, I noticed something: while one had started blooming, their petals never fully opened. It seemed to be carrying a disease and the leaves were no longer green and firm. Then another, a new shoot was coming out, but it was filled with the white stuff around it that I knew was as a result of bugs and disease. I had cleaned it many times, but when I looked at the root system, I saw that it was weak. I made the hard decision to throw them out after some research. This would also protect the other three orchids.
Another orchid that is the newest addition, looked like all the petals were dying. However, I pulled off the two that were in the worst shape and now it looks almost brand new. The difference is stark.
I have two lavender plants that I bought last year. This past winter has been brutal and while I’m tempted to say they are dead, when I looked at the tag that came with one, it says it does not bloom until May or summer. On one, the sprigs are not falling off easily and when I try to pull it up, it seems to be firmly rooted in the ground. This is where my thought came in: we bloom at different times.
Friends, if you are looking around and wondering, what is dead or not or you are wondering why you are not yet blooming, would you say these prayers with me?
Lord, show me when it’s my time to bloom and to be OK with your timing.
Lord, show me what is dead or not and help me to tend to the thing that is still alive and to let go of what is dead.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for these powerful lessons that are in nature. May we never take them for granted and learn the lessons that you have set before us.