Winter Blooms

On St. Barbara's day my Dad cut us a branch from their Japanese cherry tree. He had to trudge through snow to get to it, and the branch was as dead as could be in the dead of winter. According to the legend, St. Barbara had cut a cherry branch from outside the window where she was held captive, she watered it with her drinking water and it blossomed, cheering her in the days just before her martyrdom. 

Supposedly you could try this at home, starting on St Barbaras day and finding blooms just in time to adorn the table for Christmas. Well this seemed like an interesting if not challenging activity to recreate,  seeing how I cannot even keep previously living and thriving houseplants alive much less make a dead branch bloom. But we kept it on the stove where it would get warm, hammered the ends if the branch, making it more receptive to the water and then changed out the water in the cup every couple days with warm water. 

Well, it bloomed! I was so excited that it actually worked! Given my two black thumbs it really was a miracle!

I almost left it at that and chucked the branch at that point. After all, flat space is at a huge premium in my kitchen without a cup o' branch taking up valuable counter space real estate. But there were some hard knots visible that looked like the might have buds ready to burst out. So I kept it a while longer and kept changing the water. Now? There are blooms flowering all over this once dead branch! 

My takeaways:

There are many situations, and people in our lives that seem impossible- spiritually dead even. Warm them with love little by little, and fill them with the water of prayer. Our God specializes in bringing new life out of death, even if we have no skills ourselves! 

Don't get overly excited when you see signs of growth and think "my work here is done". There could be dozens of other buds waiting to bloom!!! God wants each of us to bloom fully and abundantly, giving more than we ever expect. 

Most importantly perhaps is where my little analogy leaves off- and what is yet to come. As amazing and miraculous as this growth was, it's a stick in a cup- those blooms are going to fade and then it's all over.  I never should have plucked it off the tree if I want it to continue blooming year to year. If we want to see real sustained growth we have to remain "on the vine" and be patient enough to wait out the winter. People and situations will have growth in Gods own time and through HIS life giving water, not our little cupfulls.   Hope sees past the hard knots and snow covered deadness. But Sometimes, in the dead of winter it's just nice to remember that miracles do happen all the time.