What's with Peter?

Let's Go For a Walk

Meet Peter.  Peter is vibrant, colorful and full of life.  Or, at least it seems.  On the outside he’s beaming with life and growing everyday.  He was sprung from generations of vibrant adventurers.  But, lately, Peter has been looking a bit fringed…like the life that runs through his veins has been slowly depleting and it is ultimately wearing him out.  He’s losing his life.  

You see, Peter is my plant.  My spider plant, to be exact.  He was sprouted from my grandma's plant and has been in my care for the past 2 years.  The original plant was given to my grandma by her mom (or aunt, or sister….not sure) about 40-50 years ago.  So, you can imagine my anxiety while trying to keep this plant alive…it’s like a living heirloom in my family.  

I’ve never been much of a plant person…don’t get me wrong…I love plants…I am just not great at keeping them alive.  Weeks could go by without me thinking about needing to water them…and before you know it, I have dead leaves and dry sticks in my planter…better luck next time, right?  

Maybe a cactus would be a better fit for me.  They can survive for months without water!  

I digress.  Deciding I needed to grow out of my phobia of being a plant killer, I took on the challenge of starting my own spider plant from one of my grandma’s sprigs.  He started small, living in just a cup of water for his food.  When his roots became large enough, I planted him in a big boy pot.  Water, sun, trimming, fresh soil…the works.  But after several months, he began looking dreary.  His vibrant, green color began to fade and the tips of his leaves began to wilt.  What was wrong?  I watered him a few times a week, trimmed him weekly, and he got plenty of light, but his sprigs continued to die.  I realized that Peter was growing out of his pot…time to transplant.  While transplanting I examined his roots…he was suffocating!  His roots were all tangled at the bottom and there was no room for him to grow…being an amateur on the subject of plants, I quickly learned how important it was about having the proper container.  

So, I went to Home Depot to find a new, bigger pot for Peter.  With fresh soil and a new pot, I began to make a new home for him.  When I took him out of his then current pot, I noticed how dry looking the soil was.  It wasn’t that dark, rich looking soil, but dry and lifeless, removed from all nutrients with nothing beneficial to offer. 

It caused me to think.  

We can do all the “right” things in this life…open the doors for people, be encouraging to our friends and neighbors, support the local food banks, even attend a local church service on a regular basis.  But, if we aren’t feeding ourselves the right nutrients, we’re still going to dry out.  

You see, the kind of soil we plant ourselves in is crucial to growth.  We can start with nutrient dense soil (reading the word of God, helping those in need, feeding the hungry…etc) but if we don’t continue to grow in Christ we will become dry and weary.  

Plants were designed to grow.  To flourish.  But without the proper soil, container or pruning practices they will not become what they were designed for.  

The same goes for us.  If we only do “good works” to check them off our list of being good citizens, then eventually we will become dry and weary.  We may receive temporary satisfaction when we live this way, but soon enough we will be worn out.   We need to plant ourselves in the Word of God in order to be filled with life.  His life.  He is the the living water, who breathes life into our veins.  His soil is where we need to be planted and we need to allow God to “trim” away the sinful parts of our hearts in order to grow.  To let him be the source of our strength, our love and our lives.  

Let go of trying to do this life on your own and let God carry you through it.  

Matthew 13

John 15:5

After a couple weeks of being planted in good, nutrient rich soil, Peter is flourishing.  New sprigs have formed and he is brighter than ever. It’s amazing what a little water, trimming and good soil can do.