My daughter had a small cactus of which she was quite fond. It had a beautiful red bloom on the top … so she planted it in a bright red pot to match the bright red bloom.
Eventually her work schedule was so demanding that she asked if I would care for her cactus. She moved her cactus to join all my baby aloes.
Everything was going beautifully. The little cactus with the bright red bloom was healthy and vibrant, and soon it began to grow extra baby blooms all over the original bloom.
I was so delighted at my cactus-caring abilities that I got a little overconfident … and I wound up over-watering it.
Immediately it began to wither.
The beautiful red bloom on top began to develop ugly rotten-looking spots. Eventually the entire bloom began to shrivel and fade.
Sadness!
I knew God could redeem mistakes. I had seen it happen before when another cactus I had had accidentally broken off at the stem but, given time, it had grown back beautifully. I was confident God could redeem this most recent mistake as well.
So, I placed the sad-looking cactus down behind a coffee table where it wasn’t visible … but had full access to plenty of sunshine. And there it sat.
Over the past 5 months (while I was forgetting to water the baby aloes) the sad-looking little cactus was also forgotten.
And God’s amazing work of redeeming was in progress.
When I finally remembered to check on the little cactus, lo and behold … two brand new healthy green shoots were emerging from the main stem! Astonishing!
Another month went by and here you can see how those two-brand new green shoots had grown to substantial size … and were sending out roots everywhere! Amazing!
I have since transplanted the little cactus into a bigger pot where all the new roots can reach the soil. And would you believe that those two brand-new green shoots are turning, and they both are now beginning to grow upwards. Wow!
God is amazing! That right there is what God does with our lives! We might blow it. We might think our life is totally ruined. But God can redeem our mistakes!
God can bring newness out of brokenness.
God can bring new life and new roots!
There is always hope!
