Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Miracle

At the beginning of this past winter my wonderful mother-in-law bequeathed two herb plants to me. One was rosemary and the other oregano. I'm not sure why she gave them to me since I have a chronically black thumb, but give them she did. I waited for the two plants to wither and die, as is inevitable for any plant in my care that's less hardy than a cactus.

But they did not die, surprisingly. Both plants made it through the winter, and although the oregano did begin to droop significantly I was able to revive it. The rosemary and oregano plants lived happily on -- until I killed one.

When the rare Montana sun makes an appearance during the winter, I like to set my plants out on the deck to soak in the rays. That's what I did with my mother-in-law's plants, then promptly forgot about them. They stayed out overnight, and although the temperatures at the time were unseasonably warm, the oregano had turned black by the time morning came. Oops.

Now that spring has officially arrived and the weather is staying warm consistently, I decided to do some yard work today. Part of that venture included ripping up the withered skeletons of all the potted green things I've slain since last summer. The oregano was on my list of exhumations as I wanted to make its pot available for my next victim -- er, gardening attempt. But as I inspected the forlorn oregano, I glimpsed something tucked away beneath the brittle tangle of black twigs -- something green!

It was a leaf. Or really, several leaves, sprouting up in spite of all my mistreatment, in spite of the death surrounding it. Against all the odds, the oregano grew and continues to grow. I feel incredibly humbled and blessed by this tiny and yet not-so-tiny miracle.

There's some sort of God-message tucked away in all this, but I can't quite put my finger on it yet. Can you?

4 comments:

  1. Just like the visible leaves of the oregano wilted, withered, and died...so our bodies deteriorate with age and will also wilt away. But the Spirit of God that is inside will remain, and the light of God that we shine when we are here will remain after our external bodies wilt and die. Like the new shoot of growth, the Spirit of our soul will be revealed in a new body and new life!

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  2. Just like the visible leaves of the oregano wilted, withered, and died...so our bodies deteriorate with age and will also wilt away. But the Spirit of God that is inside will remain, and the light of God that we shine when we are here will remain after our external bodies wilt and die. Like the new shoot of growth, the Spirit of our soul will be revealed in a new body and new life!

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  3. This is a stunning photo! I am prone to killing plants too but it looks like you have a real survivor there!

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  4. Resurrection, pure and simple - quite an appropriate message given the upcoming holy day, don't you think?And it can be a resurrection of our spirit through salvation, or of dreams, goals, relationships, callings, whatever God chooses to touch and restore.Great message, and an excellent photo to illustrate it. :)

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"I am glad you are here with me."
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King