I wrote a few months ago about my attempt to overwinter my mums. This is the first time I have ever attempted to overwinter anything.
Being Fall mums from the garden nursery, they of course were rootbound and needed to be transplanted to bigger pots if I was going to overwinter them. I didn’t have any good pots, so I just used the hanging basket pots. They’ll do for time being.
I had just assumed that if the mums survived winter, I would plant them in the flowerbed come spring.
But with the arrival of spring, I had the realization that if I planted my mums in the flowerbed, the deer might eat them!
A quick Google search confirmed that: Yes! Deer love to eat mums!
Well, I can’t plant them in the flowerbed. They will have to grow in pots on the back deck.
I headed to the garden shed to see what pots might work for my mums. They needed to be fairly big-size pots. But the only ones I had were rather worn and “weary-looking.”
That’s all I’ve got. That will work.
I transplanted my mums into their new pots and carried them from the workshop around to the back deck where they could get some springtime sunshine!
As my mums now sit on the back deck enjoying the sunshine and putting out little bits of new green growth every day, I can’t help but think how they are a picture of each of us.
Their pots aren’t perfect. Their pots are smudged with dirt.
The blue pot in particular has scratches and “dings” on it.
My mums are two parts: the plant on the inside (which is alive and putting out new green growth) … and the pot which holds the plant.
So also, in the same way, each one of us are two parts: we have a spirit/soul on the inside (which we can’t see but which will live forever) … and we have a body which holds our spirit/soul.
Just like you can’t see the roots of my mums which are generating life and green growth, so also we can’t see our spirit/soul. It is from our spirit/soul that our actions come … whether good actions or bad actions. Whether lying and cheating and slander and hatefulness toward others. Or whether kindness and generosity and encouragement toward others. It comes from our “roots” – our soul/spirit which we can’t see.
Just check out all that beautiful green growth! I am so thrilled! The roots survived the winter. The plant is alive and healthy! There should be blooms this summer!
In the same way we each go through “winter” seasons of life. Will our “roots” survive?
For many people, sadly their “roots” do not survive the “winter” seasons of life. And as such, their life does not have green healthy growth of new life.
Debilitating depression, overwhelming anxiety, a life controlled by fear … these are “dead twigs” of a plant with “roots” which did not do well through the “winter” season.
In order for my mums to survive this past winter they had to be protected. I kept the mums in the workshop all winter long to protect them from the freezing temperatures which would kill their roots.
So also, in the same way, if we want our “roots” of our life to survive the “winter” seasons, we need to protect them. We need to protect our mind. We need to guard what we allow into our mind. We need to guard what we allow our mind to think about and dwell on. We need to guard against the fear, anxiety, depression, bitterness, worry, etc. … which will “kill our roots.”
Just like the pots my mums are in are not perfect, so also the body we each have is not perfect. Life will take its toll. Our body will wind up like the mum pots – dirty, scratched, “dinged up.”
Eventually our body will fail us and give out on us.
But it’s what’s inside that matters!
It’s not the pot that matters so much as the mums which are growing inside the pots! I care about the mums! It’s the mums which will fill out with beautiful green growth this summer! It’s the mums which will be covered in gorgeous blooms of color!
And so, it is with each of our lives. It’s not our body that matters so much as what is inside us. It’s our spirit/soul that matters the most! It’s the spiritual growth which is occurring deep inside … filling out our life with beautiful growth! It’s the spiritual “blooms” which will cover our life: love shown to others, an attitude of joyfulness, peace no matter the circumstance, patience even through hard times, kindness in little things, faithfulness not to quit or give up on each other, gentleness toward each other, goodness in all things, self-control, etc. …
Yes, the pot matters. The mums need a pot to hold the dirt and allow them to grow.
So also, in the same way – yes, our body matters. We need a body to hold our spirit/soul so that we can spiritually grow and “bloom” for Jesus!
Our “pot” might not be perfect. Our “pot” might have “dings” and “scratches.” Our “pot” might be “smudged with the dirt.”
But it’s what’s inside that matters most!
Love sees beyond the surface to what matters most.
