​The Spirit’s Nudge

Philippians 3:13-14 “ Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”

I love having an active Christmas cactus. I say active because I’ve had Christmas cactuses in the past that never blossomed. They would just sit there, all forlorn, all year long. I’m sure it had something to do with the window they were in, or the cat that ate the buds, or the fact that I never watered the poor things. Last year I received a beautiful Christmas cactus for Christmas, and it has blossomed three times in the last year. Each time the heavily laden buds successfully bloomed into beautiful bright flowers. 

There are a few things that I’ve learned over the course of the year about Christmas cactuses. First, don’t move them. Wherever you set them once you bring them home is their forever home. They don’t like to be moved. Second, feed them a cup of coffee every now and then. They like their Joe! And finally, don’t let your pet eat their buds. Now, with the exception of preventing them from being consumed, the other Christmas cactus care ideas could very well be old wives’ tales. The location and caffeination just happen to work for my blossoming Brazilian beauty. 

Do you ever wonder about your ability to turn your buds into blooms? Just because you have a budding idea doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to bloom into a blossom of a ministry. That doesn’t mean that you don’t keep trying, though. We learn by failing. Indeed, it can become wearisome to keep trying things over and over. And yes, sometimes things just aren’t meant to be, or they are meant to take a season or two off. I don’t know if I finally succeeded at raising a living Christmas cactus because of my new ideas, my fortitude at keeping the thing alive or the luck of the draw in receiving a hearty plant. What I do know is that when I mentioned to my mom that I was going to try a Christmas cactus one more time she was happy to impart her wisdom as to why her 30 year old Christmas cactus that was now the size of a small child always produced voluptuous volumes of beautiful blossoms throughout the year. (Of course, the fact that mom hasn’t had a housecat in 40 years probably helped as well.) 

One of the things that I love about our church and my ministry here is the fact that we try new things. And we are allowed to fail. Unlike my Christmas cactus, we don’t get stuck in the same place. We move on, we try different views. (And just like my Christmas cactus, we are fueled by vast amounts of caffeine!) Next week I will be in Pittsburgh teaching other pastors how to transition their churches from a place of dormancy to a place of renewal. One of those lessons is about trying even though they might fail. And I will also be sitting in on classes about new ideas for ministries. New ways to fail, and how to fail well. 

By the time I return the beautiful pink buds of my Christmas cactus will be falling off. And I know that in a couple of months the tiny buds will again appear, stretch and grown into another round of bright pink beacons of hope. A reminder that not giving up on trying something new sometimes takes a few years and it is always worth the effort…as long as you try with a good strong cup of Joe. 

Peace,
Pastor Pam

Pastor Pam Peterson