Drawn

A few weeks ago, a sweet friend brought us a meal one evening, and to top it all off, she gave us this:


Isn't it the cutest little flowering plant you've ever seen? I don't know what it is--but I just think it's the sweetest little thing. I think part of my infatuation with it is the burlap wrapping (who knew burlap could be so attractive?) AND the orange bow tied around it.

This brings me to a recent self-realization that I feel compelled to share.

Tie a bow around just about anything, and it automatically ranks as a "sweet little thing." I think you could give me a small bag of Cheetos with a bow wrapped around it, and I would "ooh" and "ahhh" over it for a good 5 seconds.

Ok--so that's not really what I'm blogging about today.

The cute plant--we've had it for a few weeks, and at first, I had it on our kitchen table. Carly liked looking at it during meal times, and frankly, so did I.

After a few days, I started to think, "I probably need to water this."

I don't have the greenest thumb around. I wish I did--but I don't. (I should have watched my mom a little more while I was growing up. She always planted and maintained the best garden and flowers. We had pretty flowers and plants in our front and back yards, in the garden, on the side of the house--I'm talking about impatiens, geraniums, lilac bushes, wild flowers, snapdragons, tulips--the works. So I have this great appreciation for beautiful flowers--I just don't do so well at maintaining them. I can water them like a pro--but transplanting, fertilizing, and all the important non-watering tasks--not my forte.)

So, I realized I needed to water my little plant--which I did. And, I promptly returned it to the kitchen table for a day or two.

After a few days, I noticed that it lacked a little bit of luster--and I figured I would place it in the windowsill so it could get some sun. Within hours, it was looking better, more alive, taller even. . .

I know it's nothing new, nothing earth-shattering--but there was just something about seeing those red flowers and the stems bending towards the sun--drawn to it. . . drawn to what was life-giving.

Call it hormones out-of-whack still, call it extreme sleep-deprivation or just call it being me, if you like--but I was overcome with a wave of emotion as I saw that little plant bending towards the sun. It was as if I could almost see that little plant craving the light. It stirred my soul.

As I looked at my little flowering plant, I thought about what draws me--what captures my attention--what captures my time each day? Often, things that are trivial. Often, worries and fears. Am I completely drawn like that little plant to what is truly life-giving? The One who is truly life-giving?

" 'I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.' " John 10:10


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Comments

kellie said…
needed this today! thank you for my morning devotional!
July 25, 2008 at 6:55 AM
Krista Sanders said…
Stirs me too-- thanks for writing it down so I could read it.
August 4, 2008 at 8:39 PM
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