My Hope Plant

I've never really been a plant person. I don't have a green thumb. (Strange side note: once in my youth, I reached into the pickle jar enough times to stain the tips of my nails with pickle juice... That's as close as I've ever been to having a green thumb.)

In June, when my grandpa died and I returned to the homeland to join my family in grieving, my grandma lovingly commanded, "Take a plant home."

Somehow, this culture decided a way to support our friends and acquaintances who grieve is to send plants. My grandma's house was being taken over by well-meant, sun-seeking, needy plants. 

Her skeptical granddaughter (AKA me) thought, "What an interesting way to love grieving people. Here: life is hard, you are hurting, now try keeping this plant alive."

I was invited to pick a plant. I knew no other circumstance could lead me to think this was a good idea. But my grandma didn't need to start a greenhouse. Instead, I needed to be invited into a new way of grieving: tending to life. 

My mother pointed to one pot and said, "This one will be easy to keep alive. It's low maintenance." I was sold.

I brought the plant home. It eventually made it into a new pot with new soil. A housemate eventually decided it should sit on a stool instead of the floor. (Thanks, friend.) 

It grew for a while.

Then it began to slowly die. 

I don't have a green thumb. I don't remember to water the plant. I don't know how to tell how much water to give a plant. I forget to open the curtain and let the sunlight reach it most mornings as I leave for work in the dark.

I gave up on the plant. I accepted the inevitable death of this poor plant that's only fault was it was supposed to be easy to keep alive. Yet I continued to water it and pull out the rotten leaves whenever I remembered. 

Then one day, as I plucked a handful of dead leaves off of the plant, I discovered new leaves. New life! Growth. The plant is not dying!

Yes, old parts are dying. But new parts are springing out of the soil. The plant will continue to grow - maybe even flourish some day.

I stared in wonder. The new coming into the old. The old death phasing out. 

It gave me hope.

This plant that started as a grief plant, a reminder of death, has become a hope plant, a reminder of new life.

I desperately need that reminder. 

I'm in a life season letting old things die - not all the old things because "old" is not synonymous with "bad." I'm in a life season of letting the old lies die. The season is slow. Like winter, it seems to continue forever. Like winter, I'm not entirely convinced it will ever end.

But the hope plant tells a different story. In all of the slow death, life is capable of springing forth. New life continues to take root in me even though the old lies try to maintain their ground. 

New life takes over because it is found in the resurrection of Jesus. Easter approaches, and we wait in hope (meaning confident expectation) that the Story doesn't end in death. It continues in resurrection. 

The Church will gather to proclaim "He is risen!" That good news invites us into the Story changing our stories. The Apostle Paul writes to the believers in Rome explaining this life-changing invitation.

Romans 6:4-11

4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. 5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:11 

11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. 

When we are united with Jesus as his followers, we are united with him in resurrection. We are given new life.  

2 Corinthians 5:14b-17

Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.[d] 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

I have hope in the resurrection, and now I have a hope plant that reminds me what it means to live waiting and confidently hoping for the resurrection and the fullness of the new life to come with the return of Jesus.

We are invited into this place of hope in the resurrection. We are invited into this place of hoping that new life continues to spring forth as the old lies die.