The desert rose (Adenium obesum) is not actually related to a rose at all, but is in the same plant family as dogbane—a common weed where I grew up in Connecticut. It is a plant that is often trained for bonsai. By pinching back the tips, the shrub will remain short but will get quite stout.
The particular pant we saw was looking not very attractive in a pot that was overgrown with weeds. The owner of the nursery seemed a bit reluctant to sell. It was somewhat expensive, but I was expecting that, because he had been raising it for 7 years.
We brought it home, cleaned it up, and repotted the plant and soon it rewarded us by dropping what few leaves it had.
For three months we patiently watered and weeded the woody skeleton.
And then this happened.
About a week later it was like this.
Perhaps one day it will look like this large specimen we saw in Chiang Mai.
While it seems like we had to be rather patient with the desert rose, our pineapple plants have done a much better job at testing our patience.
Shortly after we moved here in February of last year, we stuck a pineapple top in the ground.
It seemed like it was doing OK, as it began to grow. But once it got to a certain point, it seemed to stagnate—not dying but not growing either. It was like this for many months.
Then, all of a sudden, the innermost leaves started to turn red and a flower bud began to emerge.
After several more weeks, it is looking more and more like a pineapple. And who knew they had such pretty purple and white flowers.
I’m not great at waiting. But it seems that to achieve most good things in this life it takes patience and hard work.
The Bible is full of verses about “waiting on God” and being patient with others. A few examples:
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3 (NIV)
Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. Isaiah 30:18 (ESV)
Love is patient 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV)
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. James 5:7-8 (ESV)
I’m not sure how much longer it will be until we can eat some fruit, but we’re certainly looking forward to it, and I’ll try to be patient.
No comments:
Post a Comment