I bought a plant. Now that might be a predictable purchase for some, like my mom. Plants thrive under her care. But no one in my household would buy me a living plant—it is not likely to survive. I like cut flowers, because they have a limited shelf life.
But I wanted a plant in my spiritual direction room. The fake ones were pricey and unattractive, so a couple weeks ago I stopped at Lowes to peruse the “living”options. I saw an attractive plant, an Arboricola, that had a yellow clearance sticker - $1.00. I figured I would give it a try. There was minimal financial risk, and I could hardly be blamed if it did not survive.
I bought plant food and a plastic base so I could put it in my decorative pot that matched the colors of the direction room. The plant had a few dead brown leaves, but it didn’t look too bad. I trimmed the dead stuff… that seemed to make sense. I put the plant food in the soil and set it in my room. Over the following days more leaves turned brown, and I continued to remove them. I was getting discouraged. Maybe Lowes sold my plant for $1.00 for a reason.
Roots. I know roots are important for living things so I took my plant out of its plastic pot to see what was happening under the surface. The roots were crowded, all wound around themselves. I concluded it must need more space, more room to grow. That seemed logical. But, alas, Lowe’s doesn’t sell the inner plastic pots, and I needed a bigger size. Aaargh! I found some potting soil and a plastic container with a lid that seemed about the right size in the paint aisle. At home I poked holes in my make shift planter and put the lid underneath so it could drain in my decorative pot. Incidentally the lid was priced separately. My $1 experiment was quickly approaching a $20 commitment.
The instructions on my Arboricola informed me that it needed medium to high light so I placed it closer to the window and even took it outside each day. Finally, the brown spots that kept emerging on the leaves seemed to slow. And just a few days ago I noticed new growth! Delight... I was becoming rather invested in the well being of my little plant.
Living things need to be tended. Souls need to be tended. What does your soul need in these mid-summer months? My plant had a crisis. I don't really know why. Maybe it outgrew its pot and needed more space, maybe it lacked sufficiant light inside Lowes, or maybe it simply needed nourishment. Tending is essential. What is the state of your soul?
You are priceless. God is investing in you. What is needed to cooperate with God's tending? What is God providing for you: light, nourishment, living water, space to grow? What will it take to open your heart and receive God's provision?
A "Soul Tending" Opportunity
Renewal and Restoration Retreat
Harleysville
August 23, 2019
Friday
Details posted soon...