Cacti teach us that growth happens even when we experiences pain.

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“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Revelation 2:10 English Standard Version

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Copyright Douglas P Brauner

I didn’t grow up with cacti. I grew up with sky-scraping Douglas Firs, and ground hugging ferns. Moving to the desert of Colorado, cacti were a new experience for me. What I didn’t know about cacti is how beautiful they are when they bloom.

Cacti are a good picture of what it means to remain faithful to death.  They live much of their lives in drought. I have a Christmas cactus in my home. I neglected it for many years going months (literally) without watering it. After so much neglect I decided to pay attention to it, and as soon as I gave it water it sprang to life with beautiful flowers.

We will not get rid of droughts that invade our lives, yet in the midst of these droughts (and dare I say because of these droughts) we blossom in this world.

Christ planted his cross, a dead piece of wood, firmly in the soil of our sin. It is through his experience of the cross that we receive the nourishment to bloom, even when we experience the struggles of life.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner