A Cactus in Rio

We have this cactus. What kind I don’t know, for I am no botanist. We acquired it when João was visiting a family and admired their cactus. They snapped off a piece and he brought it home and planted it the planter where my very dead palm had been. Since it’s a cactus I sort of ignored it and it stayed small. Then one day João planted a watermelon seed and it started growing. So I began watering it. Lo and behold the cactus took off growing (it starting growing about where you see the nick on the left side of the larger arm). And it grew fast for about a year or so. Then around the time of our vacation, it just stopped growing. It got a little mushy on the top and all brown and ugly. I thought it was going to die. Then about a month ago, these little yellow flowers appeared and gradually fell off. Two weeks ago we went away for a week, and upon returning, what had happened? The crazy cactus had grown, a lot! To top it off, it had put off two side arms and all these shoots on the top. All of the light green growth you see has been in the last two weeks. It almost seems like I can see it growing. It’s incredible. The only change I made was pushing it over to the corner of the balcony where it gets rain and southerly sun. ONLY… as if that was a small thing. Although it’s in a planter, it still likes being closer to more natural growing conditions.

Things just grow better with sun and rain. In a very loose analogy, I might add that I too grow better close to my natural growing conditions. This weekend, through a conference speaker at our church, I began to think about the whole process of sanctification – of spiritual growth. About real worship being worship that transforms, impacts, takes root in your life so that you might become saintly. I realized that I need even more of God’s Word and of prayer – my version of sun and rain. I have been a believer for 50 years and I am still so teeny tiny. So I guess I just keep trying to shove myself over closer to the source of life and maybe I’ll green up some, produce some flowers and others will see my growth. I crave that in my life.

P.S. My ever so patient sister scrolled through pages on cacti, to learn that this kind is a Cereus Jamacuru, or Mandacarú here in Brazil. Cool.