One of my hobbies over the past few years has been taking care of plants. A few years back I got started by taking care of a friend’s plant. And when I had success with this one plant; watering, growing, fertilizing, repotting, repeat. I decided to embark on my own plant adventure. Sadly, the first try was not so good. I bought three succulents and over the course of the next six months all three of them died. It was tragic.
But I still loved plants and in 2019 year I was determined to begin again. June 1st, my boyfriend of the time (now my husband) gifted me a lovely arrangement with an orchid and an anthurium. It was so beautiful! I was determined to prevent the untimely death of these lovely plants. After successfully caring for these plants for nearly a year, in the midst of the pandemic, I decided it was time to buy some succulents again.
In March of 2020, I bought two small succulents and my friend gave me some leaves from one of his succulents to propagate. I was excited to be raising succulents again! I put the leaves out to dry out a little and see if they would sprout some roots. The trick with propagating succulents is really to ignore them, something I find nearly impossible to do!
Unbeknownst to me, one of the succulents I had purchased came with a pretty severe case of root rot. This can be caused in a variety of ways, but typically the plant is a goner. Thankfully, I had joined a couple of plant groups on social media to learn more about plants, so I shared my problem with them.
A few people said the root rot was so bad that the plant couldn’t be saved, they I should chuck it out and start over. But others encouraged me to “behead” the plant and try water therapy. Since I am not one who gives up easily, I decided to behead the plant, (which is to cut off the healthy top portion of the plant), and save the leaves on the lower part of the stem for propagation. And I gave water therapy a try.
I dutifully followed the directions of these kind internet strangers. After cutting off the very top part of the plant, careful to remove the entire damaged portion, I put the healthy part of the plant suspended in a piece of plastic wrap over a cup of water. It took some time and progress was slow… but over time, do you know what I saw?
I saw bright pink healthy roots sprouting from the place I was told would never live again.
Bright pink healthy roots growing towards the water, their source of life. It is ingrained in plants the will to live. Specifically, most succulents have the DNA needed for growing a whole plant in just one leaf! This little guy was going to live after all! After these roots grew a bit longer, I planted the little guy back into some well-draining soil and it continued to grow and thrive.
As I shared this story with a friend, I had a realization. This plant embodies what can happen in our lives when we spend time in proximity to the presence of the Living Water. The plant was simply in proximity to the water, and it grew roots towards the water.
In the same way, when we spend time in the presence of Jesus, we grow roots towards our source. Something in us instinctively reaches towards the Water of Life. If something has come in and caused root rot within you – then perhaps it’s time for some water therapy. Perhaps it’s time to get into the proximity of the presence of God. He is here, ready and waiting for you to join him. He wants to spend time with you. He enjoys you. What has seemed dead can live again.
The presence of Jesus is not just something we get to enjoy on a Sunday or during our daily “quiet time.” The presence of Jesus is available to us all of the time. We must seek Him out and be more aware of Him. “You will search for me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
It can be easy to get overwhelmed with the chaos in the world. It’s easy to be swept up in the storm and not know which way to go. But, when we stay close to our Source of Life, then we intuitively know what to do. It’s in our DNA because of who we are in Christ. First, we grow roots from being in His presence, then we can be transplanted back into the soil of daily life where we can grow the fruit encoded in our DNA. (Gal 5:22-23)
It may sound like the cliché Sunday School answer, but Jesus really is all we need. The moment we add anything to Jesus, we nullify for ourselves what He accomplished at calvary. But here’s the deal, just like any relationship, proximity to the other person is important. We must spend time with Jesus. He wants to know you more than you want to know Him. Jesus desires deep, deep intimacy with you. Are you willing to invest in the most important relationship in your life? This relationship with your life source. John 15 is His invitation to you to enjoy His presence all the time. Stay in proximity to His presence. His presence is your source.
“For apart from Me, you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Sarah Louise 