This orchid was a gift the day our daughter, Anna, entered the world. It was full of beautiful blooms! We brought it home and as we nutured and cared for our new baby, we nurtured and cared for this orchid.
Our sweet girl continued to grow and thrive and well, sadly I can’t say the same for our poor plant.
It survived our move to the mountains of North Carolina but it stopped blooming. We tried different places in the house; morning light and afternoon light. We set it outside on warm days, watered as directed and yes, even talked to it! We researched ways to help it grow and tried every tip we could find.
Maybe it was my husband’s love for plants or maybe it was the fact that this flower was gifted on such a special day, but we just couldn’t get rid of it.
And so it sat. Stagnant and ugly; with two bare twigs sticking up and it’s leaves looking weak and wilted, while we continued to nuture it with seemingly no response.
Then one day, we noticed one small healthy green shoot coming from deep in the soil. New growth was breaking through. For two years, this plant appeared to be dead and suddenly new life was bursting forth. Over the next few months it continued to grow and form seven new buds! Today, four have bloomed!
What appeared to be a dead, now has four beautiful vibrant blooms.
I’m so glad we didn’t give up, didn’t stop caring for it and didn’t let go of hope that one day it might bloom again. Not just because it brightens up the window sill in my home office but because it’s now a symbol of promise.
Friends, I don’t know what you’ve been cultivating in your life. Maybe it’s raising children or growing a business. Maybe it’s investing in a relationship or pouring time and energy into a lifelong dream. But if you’re facing times where it seems all your effort has been wasted, if it feels like your actions are futile and no good harvest will ever come forth; don’t give up.
What we couldn’t see, God did. We couldn’t see what was happening under the soil. New life was beginning to grow. On the surface all seemed lost but He knew what was about to break through!
If you’ve lost hope. If what you’ve been praying over seems dead. If you’ve tried everything you know to do to make it work and it still seems impossible, give it to Him. Trust His timing.
Continue to do the work He’s asked you do and trust the results to God. You can not control the outcomes but you can control your actions. Continue to cultivate.
Continue to water.
Wait for the harvest!