I have four nice, mature violets who never bloom! Yes, the leaves are lovely but pale in comparison to the dark purple flowers I could be enjoying. Being the plant lover that I am, I did not immediately come to this conclusion. My goal was for my family and friends to enjoy the plants downstairs. However, being that my house faces east/west, it is impossible to put the plants in the south window I had always heard violets enjoy.
"How finicky can a violet really be to know the different rays of sun from alternating directions?"
I had changed their location downstairs, switched up the moisture for the soil and even added some violet food- all amounting to still no blossoms. In the back of my head (you know, that place where God speaks to us!) I knew I had to eventually try my one-and-only south facing window before I toss out my plants.
In my house, if a plant is not performing- it's out. I don't have time for mediocrity. I expect excellence.
Four week ago I hid my four violets upstairs in my south facing window in my bathroom. In one respect I was sad because if these little stinkers did not perk up and perform, I was going to have to say goodbye to good friends whom I have watered and talked with for years (yes, I talk to my plants). Conversely, if they did bloom- no one could enjoy them but me! What is the purpose of that?
Low and behold, within DAYS of my move, small buds began to unfold from the middle of the plants. A week later I had a few purple blossoms on each of my four plants. With a little more water and a little more time, my plants are booming with an array of flowers!
As I sit and reflect on my finicky plants I am reminded of the verse in John 15:4,
"Abide in Me, and I in you."
Do you ever have a season in your life where opening the Bible is work? I know I go through times when I open the Word of God and life flows from the pages. Other times, the Bible feels silent and removed.
It is in those times when I put my Bible aside and simply sit before my Father. I have nothing to say and I have nothing to bring. I do not bring a long list of demands (prayer requests) or my pencils for studing, I come empty-handed to soak in His presence. My thoughts are quiet. My mood reflective.
With three budding Christians in my house I teach them different ways to commune with God. I have encouraged them to try the, "be quiet and sit" technique, but often wondered if I'm incredibly off my rocker. All I know is that I have indeed been supported, given peace and grown in my times of "unproductive quiet." While my analytical side tells me I am waisting my time and will have nothing to show for my senseless act, I wonder how much of my spiritual growth has occured not in study, but in silence; not in talking, but in solitude.
My plants simply sit in the sun. Not just any sun, the south-facing sun. Even if all we can do sometimes is sit before our Father, I am conviced (thanks to my violets) that God is still at work within us.Though no one else can see my beautiful purple violets, they stay in my bathroom as a daily reminder of God's incredible creation and abounding love for me.
