Cactus Flowers

Last summer, my mother bought me a tiny little cactus in its own little pot. It was so small, (only about and inch and a half in size ), it could sit on the windowsill of my kitchen and soak up all the sun it needed.

It even had a cute little hot pink blossom on the tip. It was such a pretty color and I marveled how something so small and "prickly" could produce something so lovely. Cute, small, vibrant. fake.

Yes, that's right. After admiring the colorful blossom, I noticed it started to fall off, ( read: glue melting ) but the blossom didn't wither and upon closer inspection, I discovered the "cactus flower" was just a fake.

Now, I wondered if in fact, the entire plant was fake. I was actually a little upset that a company would go to the trouble to glue on a blossom and ship them out to sell as those wonderful impulse items at the register.


However, I planted the cactus, in a large pot with "succulents,"( plants similar to cacti in climate and care) , to see if it would indeed sprout. Then I actually kind of "forgot about it."

I didn't really give it much thought as the seasons changed. Fall, Winter, Spring came without much change. Then a few weeks ago, I noticed something...a sprout. This sprout was shooting up from this same little cactus! It was hot pink on the exterior and although the cactus hadn't grown a bit, it had finally sprouted on it's own.

Then, I came home one evening to a full lemony yellow blossom spread open to the evening. It was spectacular. The blossom proceeded to open and close over the next few days until its season had come to a close. Although it had been pink on the outside, it was actually yellow, white and pink. I was sitting on my porch looking at the many flowers and plants( see a previous blogpost about that miracle ) and I happened to think about that crazy little cactus.

When it had the fake blossom, it wasn't in its season. In an attempt to make a sale, the distributor basically lied to the consumer. Then, in a surprise, when it bloomed, it wasn't pink on the inside at all. It was inadequately portrayed. It was, in fact even more multi-colored and vibrant than the false attempt. Hasn't that happened to us? How many times have we allowed ourselves to be portrayed a certain way, when in fact, it wasn't "our season?"

We rush through the "wait." I know, because it's right where I'm living. It seems like we become so enamored with what we "think" the outcome should be, that we settle for a monochromatic idea, instead of God's multi-faceted design.

"I need this to happen now God!," we yell with impatience as we rush into that relationship, job, church group, social event in hopes that 'this' is it. Ultimately, it becomes a "glued on blossom." It will fail. It will pale in comparison to His plan.

That cactus flower is gone now, and the cactus itself seems to be growing. Isn't that the plan? We wait, we blossom, we grow. Perfect advice from our master gardener.