By Sharon Chiellini As I walk Nico down my street in the morning to take him to the bus stop, I pass a house that has a huge cactus, taller than the house itself, in it's front yard. I had first noticed the cactus when the current home owners first moved in because they removed every scrap of landscaping except that cactus. Personally, if it were up to me, the cactus would have been the first thing to go. They created a huge landscaped area complete with tons of mulch but no plants except...you guessed it..that cactus. Now keep in mind, gardening is one of my greatest passions. (I know what some of you are thinking if you've seen my yard, I said I was passionate about it, I didn't say I was good at it. Besides, the lawn is not considered part of the garden, that's Mike's responsibility.) I had already designed in my mind what plants I would have planted in my neighbor's yard and how I would have arranged them. Low and behold, there would have been no room for that ugly cactus. I actually considered how nice it would be to live in a deed restricted community where ugly cacti were banned and pretty plants were required.
Over time a plant would appear here and there in my neighbor's landscaping. I don't know how they got there, because I never saw anyone in their yard and they never seemed to plant more than one plant at a time but I started to like my invisible unknown neighbors because the new plants were starting to take the focus away from the ugly cactus.
Normally when I would ride past my neighbor's house I would ignore the cactus out of principle, but just last week Nico started riding the bus which meant I had to stroll past my neighbor's house on foot everyday. One morning I happened to glance up, and it was almost as if the cactus was smiling at me. It didn't seem as ugly as I had remembered and then I noticed that it had huge pink and white flowers on it. They were absolutely beautiful! I couldn't stop staring at them. The cactus was still ugly but the flowers made it beautiful. Then I could swear I heard the cactus laughing at me. I spun around to make sure that we were alone, and then Nico and I stood there in silence, holding hands, looking at my beautiful new friend the cactus and his gorgeous flowers.Later in the day, when it was time for me to go back to the bus stop to get Nico, I was disappointed to see that my cactus friend's flowers were all closed up. I assumed that they were like morning glories or something and that they only opened in the morning, so I decided that I would bring my camera and take a picture of the flowers the next morning. That was last week. The cactus has not opened his flowers since then. Stupid cactus.
It became obvious to me that the cactus had no intention of being my friend, he was only mocking me...teasing me. I wanted to climb up his spindly branches and open those flowers myself, which I probably would have done if it wasn't illegal, and if the cactus didn't have bazillions of sharp 4 inch spikes all over him. Besides I had already decided that anyone who liked having a big ugly cactus in their yard probably didn't take kindly to trespassers.
It was in that moment that I prayed "Lord...I have a sneaking suspicion that there is something you want me to learn from this. I have enough wisdom to know that this cactus is not really trying to hasten my realization that my brain is aging faster than I would like." and then I recalled a verse that I had used on the last screen saver I had designed.
For, "All men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." 1 Peter 1:24
I only got to enjoy the flowers for one morning, and in reality, our time on this earth is like a vapor that passes quickly. It made me not want to miss an opportunity to enjoy God's handiwork. It made me want to take every opportunity to make sure the people I love know that they are loved, by me and by God. It made me want to stop...and take the time to smell the roses (or cactus flowers). It made me think about all the people I know that have yet to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It made me want to make a difference....today, not waiting for tomorrow because tomorrow may never come.
Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14
The cactus flowers made me think about losing Simeon. I thought about the people I love and how I need to spend time with them and enjoy their beauty and talent while I can because I have no way of knowing how long they, or I, will be here or how long we will have to wait to see each other again in heaven.
I want to live every day as if it is the last day that my flowers will be open. I guess I could start by knocking on my neighbor's door and introducing myself. Ya think?
A Becky Carey Commentary:
I’ve been thinking about your question about why that cactus would bloom at night. Life experiences have taught me that in dark times our real beauty is revealed, but only when we focus all of what we do for one reason and one reason only…and that is to glorify our Creator.
In the secret and dark places, God sees us…even though others may not be able to appreciate or even see our worth. Sometimes the beauty that often comes from the roughest and stickiest of circumstances should not be exposed to the light for others to see because exposure could cause it’s host to wilt and be drained of the energy it needs to be beautiful, OR perhaps those who see the beauty in the light might credit the host instead of the creator that designed and brought forth the beauty in the first place.
