At a glance, this looks like an ordinary philodendron. Most people like them because they take a lot of neglect and they are hard to kill. They grow really quickly and they are simple and easy to reproduce. But let me tell you, this particular philodendron is no ordinary houseplant.
At one of my jobs, I worked in an eight foot cubicle. On the top of the cubicle wall there was a strip of plastic that held my wall and cubicle neighbor's wall together. Where the four cubicles intersected, there was a file cabinet in the cubie adjacent to mine and on top of that file cabinet was Gloria, the largest philodendren you have ever seen. Her vines stretched the length of two cubicles and were draped around two windows in our office. She was quite impressive.
I was in a particularly dark time in my life. It was a struggle to go to work. I felt as if I was in the deepest, darkest valley I had ever walked through. I felt as if I might die. At times, i wished I was dead. There seemed to be no light at the end of my tunnel. One day, while standing by the wall that separated me from my office mate, I noticed a green leaf sticking out of the end of the plastic tubing holding the cubie walls together. Upon investigation, I discovered that one of Gloria's vines had crawled under the plastic and had grown 8 feet, between the two walls, under the plastic and out the other end. How in the world that happened, I do not know.
There was no light in that tunnel of plastic, only darkness and the deepness of the wall. It had to have been in there for quite a while to have grown 8 feet in length without growing one leaf, until it reached the other side of the wall and came into the light of the room. We left it there and lo and behold, it grew another leaf. Then it started to die, so I pulled as much of the vine out of the plastic as I could and snipped it off. I put it in a jar of water under the flourescent light on my desk. In just a few short weeks, it sprouted several more leaves.
At one of my jobs, I worked in an eight foot cubicle. On the top of the cubicle wall there was a strip of plastic that held my wall and cubicle neighbor's wall together. Where the four cubicles intersected, there was a file cabinet in the cubie adjacent to mine and on top of that file cabinet was Gloria, the largest philodendren you have ever seen. Her vines stretched the length of two cubicles and were draped around two windows in our office. She was quite impressive.
I was in a particularly dark time in my life. It was a struggle to go to work. I felt as if I was in the deepest, darkest valley I had ever walked through. I felt as if I might die. At times, i wished I was dead. There seemed to be no light at the end of my tunnel. One day, while standing by the wall that separated me from my office mate, I noticed a green leaf sticking out of the end of the plastic tubing holding the cubie walls together. Upon investigation, I discovered that one of Gloria's vines had crawled under the plastic and had grown 8 feet, between the two walls, under the plastic and out the other end. How in the world that happened, I do not know.
There was no light in that tunnel of plastic, only darkness and the deepness of the wall. It had to have been in there for quite a while to have grown 8 feet in length without growing one leaf, until it reached the other side of the wall and came into the light of the room. We left it there and lo and behold, it grew another leaf. Then it started to die, so I pulled as much of the vine out of the plastic as I could and snipped it off. I put it in a jar of water under the flourescent light on my desk. In just a few short weeks, it sprouted several more leaves.
And soon after that, even more leaves.
Eventually, I put it in the pot that it's currently in. When the vines get too long, I snip them off and put them back in the dirt of the pot and another vine growns out.
As I pondered the life of this plant, I realized that God was trying to teach me some things.
1. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Things will eventually change. We must not allow ourselves to fear the darnkess. Even in the darkest of places, when we feel the most lost and the most dead, change is happening. We are growing, if we are attached to the main vine and looking for the light of His promises.
2. Valleys are not a place of weakness. The heartiness of that plant is what kept it alive while it traveled that distance to the other side of the wall. Not every kind of plant would have made it. If we are God's children, we have the heartiness of the Holy Spirit in us and we can make it though the longest, darkest, driest valley.
3. Although we may end up somewhere different than where we thought, there can still be abundant joy and peace, and when we persevere and come out the other side, we can continue to grow and reproduce the life that we still have.
4. If we drift too far from the root, we begin to die. So in times when we are broken, afraid, confused, discouraged, and hopeless, that is when we need to press in to the Lord even harder. He is still where we left Him. He has not left us. Psalm 84 speaks of this:
How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways to Zion!
Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring;
The early rain also covers it with blessings.
They go from strength to strength,
Every one of them appears before God in Zion.
Another translation states it this way:
How enriched are they who find their strength in the Lord;
within their hearts are the highways of holiness!
Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears,
they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain.
He gives to them a brook of blessing
filled from the rain of an outpouring.
They grow stronger and stronger with every step forward,
and the God of all gods will appear before them in Zion.
That has certainly been my experience. Even in the midst of the darkest days and most terrifying nights, HIS PRESENCE has calmed me, and given me hope, comfort and sweet peace. Were my circumstances different? Nope! Was the situation different? Nope! But when He was there with me, I was different! God meets us in our valleys and in those broken moments is where He can work the most. That's where He skillfully, as a surgeon, removes things from our hearts and pours in the healing balm of His Spirit and grace. As a result, we go from strength to strength, just as His Word says.
Do not fear the valleys of life. Embrace them when it appears that you are going to have to walk through, knowing that the God of all comfort is walking through with you. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me!" Allow Him to accomplish His purposes in that valley and you will say with the psalmist, "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing!" Praise the name of the Lord!
As I pondered the life of this plant, I realized that God was trying to teach me some things.
1. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Things will eventually change. We must not allow ourselves to fear the darnkess. Even in the darkest of places, when we feel the most lost and the most dead, change is happening. We are growing, if we are attached to the main vine and looking for the light of His promises.
2. Valleys are not a place of weakness. The heartiness of that plant is what kept it alive while it traveled that distance to the other side of the wall. Not every kind of plant would have made it. If we are God's children, we have the heartiness of the Holy Spirit in us and we can make it though the longest, darkest, driest valley.
3. Although we may end up somewhere different than where we thought, there can still be abundant joy and peace, and when we persevere and come out the other side, we can continue to grow and reproduce the life that we still have.
4. If we drift too far from the root, we begin to die. So in times when we are broken, afraid, confused, discouraged, and hopeless, that is when we need to press in to the Lord even harder. He is still where we left Him. He has not left us. Psalm 84 speaks of this:
How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways to Zion!
Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring;
The early rain also covers it with blessings.
They go from strength to strength,
Every one of them appears before God in Zion.
Another translation states it this way:
How enriched are they who find their strength in the Lord;
within their hearts are the highways of holiness!
Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears,
they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain.
He gives to them a brook of blessing
filled from the rain of an outpouring.
They grow stronger and stronger with every step forward,
and the God of all gods will appear before them in Zion.
That has certainly been my experience. Even in the midst of the darkest days and most terrifying nights, HIS PRESENCE has calmed me, and given me hope, comfort and sweet peace. Were my circumstances different? Nope! Was the situation different? Nope! But when He was there with me, I was different! God meets us in our valleys and in those broken moments is where He can work the most. That's where He skillfully, as a surgeon, removes things from our hearts and pours in the healing balm of His Spirit and grace. As a result, we go from strength to strength, just as His Word says.
Do not fear the valleys of life. Embrace them when it appears that you are going to have to walk through, knowing that the God of all comfort is walking through with you. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me!" Allow Him to accomplish His purposes in that valley and you will say with the psalmist, "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing!" Praise the name of the Lord!
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