“The Secret of the Vine”

I have the world’s worst green thumb. OK, maybe it’s not the world’s worst, but I have been told that I might as well call it a “black thumb”!

I have killed any number of beautiful Mother’s Day plants over the years, as well as plants that I have volunteered to “care” for while their owners were on vacation (all I did was water them, as per instructions, honest)! Those loyal friends now insist that I wear a pair of gloves when approaching their (replacement) plants.

So in 1993, when my beloved grandma (who had been living with us for years) died, I decided to put her favorite plant in the basement (one step closer to the garbage), so that I would not be responsible for another “death” in the family.

Much to my surprise, I discovered the plant three months later – yup, not only had I forgotten to throw it away before I killed it, but it had somehow managed to stay alive despite my neglect! Well, just barely that is. It certainly was in need of some attention, so I decided at this point; why not try to save it – what have I got to lose? I invested in some Miracle-Gro products, added a good dose of fertilizing prayer, and, Voilá! It actually sprang back to life! Of course, I did learn later that this particular plant, a philodendron, is practically indestructible – finally – a plant for me!!!

Fast forward thirteen plus years, and my still thriving philodendron suddenly suffers a break in one of its branches. At this point, all I’ve done for years is water it once a week, so I figured – no problem, I’ll just put the broken branch into some water, and it will grow roots, then I’ll have TWO hardy plants! But, try as I might, the branch did not thrive. Was the old “curse of the black thumb” striking again, or what?!

The title of this blog, “The Secret of the Vine” is a take-off on Bruce Wilkinson’s “Secrets of the Vine”, in which he shares some insights on prayer. But, I am referring simply to the passage in the gospel of John, chapter 15 verse 4, where Jesus says, “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.” (Emphasis mine.)

Jesus goes on in the following verses to reinforce the idea that our need for Him is so critical that even if we were born with ten green thumbs (well, you get the idea), we STILL couldn’t thrive spiritually (or otherwise), without Him!

So, I think that perhaps I’ve been provided with a little reminder of the Savior’s desire to keep me grafted into Him. You see, even though I thought that all the branch needed was water, there were SO many more nutrients provided by the vine that were necessary to its survival.

Who knew? JESUS!!! Now, are you THRIVING, or just SURVIVING?!

Maria McKiernan