How hard is it to take a picture of a Christmas Cactus bloom? Apparently, almost as hard as getting one to bloom.I've had a Christmas Cactus for years. I inherited it from my friend Lynne when she moved out of town; she had inherited it from a friend who had moved out of town. For sentimental reasons I couldn't pass it on, so it made the trip to NOVA with us.
Last year it bloomed beautifully and a month before Christmas as always. We had decided it was actually a Thanksgiving Cactus years ago. However, this year Thanksgiving came and went, and I noticed the blooms weren't even starting. Hmmm...
It turns out that the Christmas or even Thanksgiving Cactus needs cooler temperatures and 12 to 14 hours of complete darkness each night to stimulate blooming. Indirect sunlight and little humidity also help. I'd been ignoring this plant for years and doing the right things. We moved, I continued to ignore it, but...we placed it near a lamp we keep on as a night light. Ooops.
I did what I feel anyone with an extra $12 would have done. I bought a cactus on the verge of blossoming and moved my tired cactus to a nice, cool, dark room. I may get blooms on my old friend yet.
You know this got me thinking (why else would I be posting for paragraph after paragraph about a cactus). Rest - physical, mental, spiritual - is an important part of life. Not essential. My Christmas cactus is still limping along. But for us to bloom in life, to do what God created us to do, we need rest and care. That is part of God's plan.
God created us knowing our every need and the desires that would help that need and sometimes get in the way. We can burn the midnight oil and do just fine...for a season or two, but eventually we'll be unable to do it all unless we get that essential rest.
I've been very embarrassed to admit that I'm getting some rest in this season of my life. I love this season of my life. I spent years running around doing all I or even a couple of people could accomplish in a day. Wife, mom of 3 under 9, grad school, teaching school and Sunday school, volunteering, full social life...I look back at that time now and shake my head. Yet, I still feel guilty for this rest period God has granted me. I wonder if I should be doing more. More what??? Every time I consider filling up the extra time I think I have, my current life fills every spare moment, and I thank God for that reminder.
He reminds me that being a wife and a mom is enough. Seeking to know and love the Lord is enough. And most importantly, trusting in the Lord to show me what to do next is exactly what I need to bloom.
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