Lessons From a Christmas Cactus
This Christmas cactus has been a bit of an enigma to me and left me pondering.
It was purchased three Christmases ago. It bloomed that Christmas then hasn’t again. I kept an eye on it, hoping I would discover blooms forming throughout the holiday seasons. At one point, it seemed a few tried to form but they just fell off. A friend suggested I give it some plant food, but it was past the blooming season, so I let it go but continued to hope it would bloom the following holiday season.
Recently, the plant was looking rather weary and worn, a bit neglected (despite being watered regularly), and even a little unhealthy in a wrinkly kind of way.
Yet, much to my surprise, I discovered a tiny bloom forming! I thought to myself, “I hope it doesn’t shrivel up and fall off like the others did! I want to see it fully bloom!” Needless to say, I ran out and got some plant food in hopes that the added nutrients would make it healthier, and strengthen it.
I couldn’t get this plant out of my mind. I kept thinking about how it was unexpectedly blooming out of season and was happening when the plant didn’t seem to be doing as well.
Why did that feel oddly familiar???
The Lord began speaking to my heart. “A lot more time passed between this plant’s normal blooming seasons, didn’t it? You had an expectancy that it should bloom at a particular time, yet those expected times came and went without the buds forming and blossoming. It has the outward appearance of having been through a rough season, yet that rough season has produced healthy blossoms. Why does that feel familiar? Because that plant is a representation of what’s been happening in you and the timing has been similar.”
He had my attention.
I went to work for a really great company in October 2022 and left just shy of a year later. As much as I loved the people and aspects of what I did, it wasn’t a good fit because I’m not a numbers girl and it was a company that provided outsourced accounting services. Not having a solid grasp of accounting made it difficult for me to explain our individualized services and sell them to those who could benefit from the support we provided.
I lost myself during that time. I moved away from the passions of my heart - walking with people in life, both spiritually and in health and wellness, as well as writing, walking in the prophetic, teaching, speaking, and the significant role I had at the farm animal rescue.
The stress of trying to fit a round peg in a square hole and keep my head above water tanked my health. I went completely bald in large sections, had adrenal fatigue, and felt like I didn’t know myself anymore. Despite getting my body healthy and regaining my hair, I realized I’d also lost my voice - not literally, but figuratively. I had stopped writing, doing videos, and sharing all of the things I used to speak about.
I longed to bloom - to feel successful again doing what I knew I was created to do, but I didn’t know what that was anymore. It was a quiet few seasons. I tried to do certain things, but it felt like blooms forming and falling off before they had the chance to really come out in fullness and beauty.
By the time 2025 arrived, I was absolutely weary and worn from walking through 2024. I’d neglected myself, gained weight, and once again, wasn’t as healthy as I had been. That was the season, though, that God did so much internal work within me . . . and the blossoms began to form.
Although it took a toll, that season created beauty within me that’s now budding, maturing, and blossoming forth.
It wasn’t when I expected it.
It seemed to take too long.
It felt like I missed seasons when it “should” have happened.
But . . . this is the right season for it. God’s timing is always perfect.
I felt the Father’s nudge to share all of this because I believe the lessons and hope this little Christmas cactus is providing will speak to far more than just my heart.
The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing.
(Isaiah 35:1-2a, NKJV)
Need some encouragement and prayer? Reach out. I’d love to pour out some nourishment on your spirit and soul.
Living for Him,
Andrea
P.S. I've loved listening to Rita Springer's "Fed by Ravens" album. Here's a link for you to check it out if you'd like.