Sunday, March 2, 2025
The Rev. Jennifer Fisher (she/her)
Founder, Launchpad Partners
Founder, Imagine Cincinnati
Allied Christian
Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the man working the vineyard, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good, but if not, you can cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9)
We're impatient for the world to give us what we want. But plants don't always work on our schedule. For the past four years, I’ve had the opportunity to spend a week in the desert in Arizona each spring. There in the unique Sonoran landscape, I’ve learned so much from the plant life. It’s so different from what I see in my neighborhood of Cincinnati every day.
For example, in the Sonoran Desert, and only there, the Saguaro (pronounced Sa-war-oh) cactus can grow 40-60 ft tall and live up to 150-200 years. But it is a very slow growing plant. A 10-year-old plant might be only 1.5" tall. Saguaro flowers bloom for less than 24 hours. They open at night and remain open through the next day, emitting a strong, melon-like smell. They only have that very short time to attract a bat, bee or bird to pollinate it so it might mature into a bright red fruit. Each fruit can contain up to 2000 black seeds which are spread throughout the region by the many animals who eat and digest it.
These cacti are a life source not only for all the creatures of the desert, but also for humans. Tohono O'odham Indians have been harvesting the fruit, finding relief in its shade, using the flesh as water canteens and more, for as long as they have dwelled in the desert.
Reflection
If you are able, take your body on a mindful stroll through your neighborhood. Allow yourself to notice a plant or flower that you may have never noticed before. Spend time observing it. Is it blooming? If not, try to take a picture of the plant and find it on Google images, or download a free trial of a plant identifying app. Use it to learn about the plants and trees on your street.
If you can identify this plan, then do a bit of research. When does the plant bloom? For how long? And why? How do the other plants and native animal life around it help it to grow? Is it native to the land you are standing on? If not, how does it help or hurt the land?
How do human beings use the plant, now and in the past? How do the seasons of your life relate to the seasons of this plant’s life?
Pray
Creator God, I want all of life to happen on my schedule. Help the plants and flowers teach me patience. Help me learn that there are seasons for blooming, seasons for rest and for survival. Help me recognize the relationships around me that nurture and sustain my growth, even when I'm slow to see it. In Jesus' name, Amen.
(Adapted from resources on saltproject.org and desertmuseum.org)
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