Lessons from an Amaryllis
It may look dead, but that doesn’t mean it is dead! - For the first month or so of having our bulb, nothing seemed to happen! The bulb sat in the most beautiful glass bowl with moss and even little fairy lights, but while we were waiting for the growing to begin someone did comment that it looked like I was displaying a rather large onion! On the outside it seemed that nothing at all was happening, but inside there was an awful lot going on.
How true can this be for each of us and true is it that where we see something dead, God is actually at work. I think of the people of Israel as they left egypt and arrived at the sea. Psalm 77:19 in the passion translation says:
Your steps formed a highway through the seas with footprints on a pathway no one knew was there
Where in your life looks dead? Keep praying, keep hoping, keep watching…you will see his footprints.
No need to water - A common conversation and sometimes even a ‘heated discussion’ was whether to water the plant or not. The instructions made it very clear that the plant had all the moisture it needed in the bulb and that it didnt need watering until the plant was in bloom. My husband, however, struggled to trust the instruction and particularly in the early says struggled to resist the temptation of watering it.
How often are we like this in our own lives? We know what God says, we know we should take him at his word, but we are tempted to take matters into our own hands and do what we think is best. It reminds me of the old hymn that says:
Simply trusting everyday,
Trusting through a stormy way
Even when my faith is small
Trusting Jes9us, that is all.
What are you trusting Jesus for today? Where are you tempted to take things into your own hands?
Is it growing??? - Another common conversation we had in the first couple of months was whether the plant was growing or not. Everyday, as it sat in the middle of our dining room table, we looked to see if there was new growth from the bulb. It was even moved to a sunny windowsill in the hope that it might enable us to see a more rapid growth, but the debate continued. It was only when we went away for a week on holiday and returned, that we could see that growth had begun. It was only in taking a step back and recalling what it had been like before, could we see the difference.
Sometimes in our lives, we too need to take a step back and recall what God has done in the past to see what he is doing now and trust that growth will come. Psalm 77 is a Psalm doing just that. Verses 11 and 12 say:
‘Yet I could never forget all your miracles, my God, as I remember all your wonders of all. I ponder all you’ve done, musing on all your miracles.’
Enjoy the growth - I have had great joy watching the plant grow and one thing that had really surprised me is how much i enjoyed the whole plant growing process and not just the flower blooming. I took great pleasure in watching the stalk grow and bend towards the light getting stronger and stronger. Then, it was fascinating to watch the bud begin to grow until eventually the red flower bloomed.
In watching the plant grow, I learned a lot about actively waiting, about enjoying the journey while waiting for God’s promise to come into bloom. God showed me how we can wait in hope and see God moving every step along the way. It reminded me of Romans 4:18
‘Against all odds when it looked hopeless, Abraham believed the promise and expected God to fulfill it.’
Rejoice at the blooming - There has been great joy in our house as the Amaryllis plant has finally come into bloom. We have remarked at the colour, the stamen, the size of of the petals and many other little features of the bloom. We have spent time appreciating the simple beauty of it. It has been lovely to see the waiting was worth it and that the prophetic card sent with the bloom came to fruition.
As Christians we are called to rejoice in the beauty and fruit of Jesus in our life. We are encouraged to testify to God’s work in and through us and ensure that our blooming is a reflection of Jesus. We are called too, to celebrate the blooming of God’s work in others too.
Isaiah 61:10-11 says:
I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations.
Prune to re-bloom - Now that the flower is in full bloom; it isn't the end. Research suggests that the bulb can be used again in order to produce more blooms. However, in order to do this it must be pruned to a couple of cms above the bulb. It will then enter a time of preparation as the newly grown leaves gather the nutrients it needs and then the plant will enter a dormant stage of 2-5 months until it grows once more.
The same is true for each of us. Often after we have done something beautiful for God or have had a season of real fruitfulness, we can undergo a time of pruning and preparation before we are once again fruitful. It may seem counterproductive and painful - BUT God always knows what he is doing. Jesus said in John 15:
‘I am the true sprouting vine, and the farmer who tends the vine is my father. He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest.
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