Blooming in the Dark

A few years ago, my mother-in-law gave me a Christmas Cactus. It’s a fairly low maintenance plant, which is why it has survived this long (I was born without green thumbs 😆)! It doesn’t bloom often, but when it does – wow – the bright pink flowers are gorgeous! But more often than not, the buds that form on the leaves never develop into blooms. They dry up and fall off. 

Here it is in full bloom

Turning Over a New Leaf

I have since learned that in order to bloom, my cactus needs less light and more darkness. What?! I knew it needed indirect light, so I put it up on top of my piano where it could access the brightness of my huge living room windows without being in direct sunlight. And it worked for a while (see above photo). But, as the seasons change, so does the light. And what works for the previous season, no longer produces blooms. So recently, when I found all the little buds dying again, I decided to take more radical action. I moved the cactus underneath an end table in my living room, where it now sits in shadows all day, not to mention these pitch black, long winter nights. To my surprise, it wasn’t even a full week before new buds appeared – large, green and full of promise, some turning a pink hue and bursting at the seams. A dramatic transformation, almost overnight!

Hello, Darkness, my Old Friend

Like my little cactus, often little buds start to grow in my life, only to dry up and fall off. I pray for rain and chase after sunlight, but still, no blooms. But maybe it’s not more rain and sun that I need. Why can’t it be the smooth and easy path that causes us to grow? 😩 Sigh. I don’t want to go through desert seasons. Or even worse, endure seasons of darkness. But this little plant has reminded me that sometimes the darkness brings out the best blooms.

Still, I prefer to live in constant sunlight – with plenty of water! If I’m honest, I choose comfort over growth every time. And yet, when I look back at times in my life where I couldn’t feel the sun, I am grateful for how I’ve grown, though I was unaware of it at the time. And just like my cactus, I don’t see my own blooms as easily as other people do. But maybe that’s because when we bloom, it’s not for ourselves. We can’t see our own blooms, because our blooms are not meant for us. We bloom for others. 

Thriving in the Desert 

The desert is one of the harshest environments to live in. Deserts are barren and empty, at least in appearance. The species who survive there must learn to go without rain for long periods of time, even in extreme heat. There is hardly any source water or nourishment. But cactus’ not only survive, they thrive in the desert. In fact, over-watering a cactus can rot the roots and kill it. A cactus needs soil that drains well. I think we’re the same way. We’re not meant to hold onto the rain we are given. We thrive best when we to let it flow through us to others. And when we try overwater ourselves, it can be toxic to our roots.

Overload or Overflow?

Speaking of overwatering…We live in a super-saturated society, at least here in North America. I don’t think there has ever been a culture as over-stimulated as we are right now. (Hello, anxiety!) We have too much on our schedules, too much information, too much entertainment. No ability to be still, or to sit with our own emotions and calm ourselves. We are taking in, taking in, taking in. Yes, we are also over-producing and burning out. But over-producing is not the same thing as allowing our Source to flow through us. It leaves us dried up and empty, not blooming. Are we overloaded or overflowing?

If you feel like you’re in a desert or the darkness with no blooms in sight, take heart! Remember my little cactus. Whatever you are going through, you can thrive and bloom. Let’s make room for a little emptiness so we can be filled by something greater, rather than self-watering until we drown. And let’s trust that out of the darkness will come our most beautiful blooms.