I was given my first Christmas cactus plant in full bloom about 18 years ago. It was beautiful & had belonged to a friend’s mother. That plant has never bloomed again. I have fertilized it & transplanted it. I have properly watered it. It has flourished & grown just never bloomed again. Not ever.
I was once told by a friend who owns a florist shop to just throw it away. She told me, “They are cheap enough. Go buy another!”. And then she proceeded to give me another one. That one has bloomed every year & this past year, actually bloomed twice!
But the other one just grew & never flowered. It has been a challenge to me. I could not bring myself to toss it out as it has belonged to a friend’s mother. So for years, it has sat on my bookshelf & existed.
Today I noticed it….
One lone blossom!!!! There are no words to express my delight in seeing that blossom. Hope sprung.
And then I got to remembering…..
- “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9 NIV).
- “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV).
- “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (Hebrews 10:35,36).
We are not to give up. We are not to get weary or tired or plain worn out. We are to be persistent & persevere. We cannot conceive all that God has for us.
Eighteen years of tending to that cactus plant. Never knowing if it would ever bloom. Never knowing when it would burst with flowers.
I have found myself wondering today……What did I miss those times I gave up? Could it be that I gave up when I was right on the edge? Was I on the verge of a breakthrough? Could it be that something was about to happen? Perhaps about to change? May I be faithful to keep on keeping on. At all times. In all ways. You just never know when something will reap a harvest. It is always at the proper time.
The Proper Time = His time.
