Wednesday, December 18

Psalm 80:8-9 
You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.
*       *      *       *      *       *       *
My Christmas cactus is in full-bloom.  It mocks me.  I have abused this plant mostly out of sheer neglect.  I have not watered it for months.  I have watered it too much.  I have left it out on the patio for too much sun or too much cold.  I have put it out of harm's way during a hurricane and forgotten to take it out of a dark garage for a season.  I have not found it in my heart to throw it away.  I have pruned it into oblivion and still it grows.   And still it blooms. There is a resilience and a vulnerability to life that seems to contradict itself and yet makes it miraculous and beautiful. God understands that about his creation.  I am only just beginning to understand. 
*      *       *        *        *       *        *
Help us all bloom where we are planted, Lord.