Big Bend National Park, Texas
Psalm 68:7-10
God, when you took the lead with your people, when you marched out
into the wild, Earth shook, sky broke out in a sweat; God was on the
march. Even Sinai trembled at the sight of God on the move, at the sight
of Israel’s God. You pour out rain in buckets, O God; thorn and cactus
become an oasis For your people to camp in and enjoy. You set them up
in business; they went from rags to riches.
— The Message
I am not a succulent expert. In fact, I paid little attention to cacti until this
trip. I had never truly seen their beauty until I saw them in their natural
environment. I have always thought the adage,
“Bloom where you were
planted,
” made no sense. I spent just enough time as an extension agent
to know that you don’t just plant something anywhere and expect it to
thrive. Things grow where the soil, the climate, and the atmosphere are
conducive for growth, and the most successful place to grow is where all
of those come naturally.
The reason I saw the beauty of the cactus in the desert was because that
is where they make sense. They are created for survival. The desert is not
a hospitable place for the unprepared or the un-adapted. In the desert,
their prickly spines, the variety of shapes, and the extravagance of color
are part of what make them abundant there when so many other species
of plants do not survive.
There was an authenticity to their beauty in the desert that makes them
seem misplaced in other places. It was easy for me to overlook their
beauty when they were placed beside a rhododendron on the side of a
mountain or a bluebonnet on a rolling Texas plain, but in the desert, they
were beautiful. They broke up the vastness, they surprised me with
unexpected color, and they gave me confidence to know they would
provide healing and sustenance in that barren environment, if needed.
After years with ministry to young adults, I have found that people who
comfortably reside in their own natural habitat are more vibrant than
people who seek other people’s permission to belong. It is not so much a
specific place as it is knowing that the qualities needed are present for
them to be who they are created to be. It is not because they are the most
culturally beautiful or meet some artificial criteria for acceptance. The
person who knows and embraces his unique place in this world and lives
into his God-given personhood. is the one who seems at peace with
himself and others. It is not necessarily someone who has been told
he/her are special, but it is the person who has been told and shown
his/her worth and value in God’s creation.
Prayer:
God of creation and love. Thank you for infusing in each of us a sense of
worth and acceptance and giving us a place to live and thrive in Your
world. Help us not to squander that gift by allowing others to define us in
their image, rather than Yours. Amen
Wanda Kidd