A Lesson from my Succulents

I must admit that I have a major crush on succulents.  Okay, maybe that's putting it lightly.  I'm actually quite in love with them really.  I'm not sure where I first saw them or how our love affair began, but I think that they are so so lovely.  They seem to be all over Instagram lately, and I can't help but 'like' every picture that I come across with succulents.  With that said, I'd like to introduce you to my three little babies.  

I first met these guys about a year ago at my neighborhood Steins.  And let me tell you, it was love at first sight.  I went in thinking that I was going to buy just one, and walked out with three because they were just too cute.  But my love for succulents goes deeper than just looks...they are so easy to manage.  A little bit of water (about once every two weeks in the winter and once a week in summer) and a lot of sunlight gives these sweet plants just what they need to grow.

Being that I live in Wisconsin, my plants have to live inside in the winter and soak up as much sun as they can through the window.  And what I've noticed over the past few weeks is how much they really need the sun.  I started to notice that instead of their leaves growing up towards the sun, they were starting to droop down towards their sides.  At first I thought maybe they needed more water (I'm no botanist) so I tried that.  When that didn't work I started to think about their need for sun.  Here in good ole Wisconsin, it has been a LONG winter.  Now that the sun is finally making an appearance more often, I decided to test out my theory, and move the plants out on our tiny porch where they can soak up a lot more sun.  In just a few days of bright sunlight, they are already picking up their droopy little arms and reaching up towards the sunlight.  I seriously love this.  Maybe I sound a little crazy but it really brings me joy!! 

What's crazy to me is that these plants, they seem to just know that they need the light to grow.  They know it so well that if they feel the light, they literally turn their little heads, leaning or growing towards the direction of the sun! And this is where I feel that I've been schooled by my succulents.  

Just as the succulents need the sunlight to grow, I know that I need God's wisdom, His Word, His involvement in my life, in order to grow and to be transformed into the creation that He created me to be.  Knowing this, I want to follow in the example of my succulents.  I need to be really intentional about leaning towards the light.  To seek my heavenly Father more and more, trusting that He can provide exactly what I need to make me grow.  

So, thank you, little succulents for setting such a great example and making me appreciate the sun (and the Son) even more.   

 

Images by me :)  Thanks to my sweet grandpa and my lovely new Canon T4i.