The Secret to Keeping Mums Alive

It’s finally fall!

Though not quite in full swing yet, I have pulled out some jeans and donned some hoodies already. I have also replaced flowers in the ceramic pot by our front door, which I do as the seasons change. When fall arrives, pumpkins appear in cheerful orange rows and chrysanthemums, or “mums,” are sold. Each year I buy pumpkins. They never let me down. But for decades, I have succumbed to the beauty of chrysanthemums and brought them home to die so quickly that I trade them out for something else to get me to Thanksgiving.

But I saw a hack!

I am not on social media much, but I have confessed in a prior blog to enjoying hacks. I saw one a few weeks ago about how to keep chrysanthemums alive! Instead of watering from the top (which I have always done), plunge them down into a bucket of water for 30-60 minutes. The post promised they would then last all season because…

Mums drink from the roots.

I tried it and my photos prove this hack has been successful so far. These mums are a month old already and look at how beautiful they are. They bring me joy as I drive up to my home. They are thriving.

We need to drink from the roots too.

My life is very crazy right now. I am juggling an impossible amount of balls. My prayers are sometimes just one word during the day as I face the next thing, “Help.” Sometimes I am praying, “Keep breathing for me.” Are you in the same boat? These mums can serve as a great reminder. We can’t get by with sprinkling some bible verses on top of ourselves with a quick reading in a devotional and a prayer of just a few lines in words someone else wrote for us. That quick dousing will not provide us enough drink to keep us thriving. We also need to sit in God’s Word for 30-60 minutes.

Like Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus

When Jesus visited their family of three, we find her at the Lord’s feet. Notice why she received praise from Jesus.

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

Like Martha, women and men can become distracted with much serving and grow bitter at those who do not seem to see how hard we are working or offer any help. Or, we can choose the “good portion.” We can go sit at the Lord’s feet in God’s Word, which “will not be taken away” from us.

I am going to assume that I am not the only one who can drop the lengthy study of God’s Word when things get busy. We think no one has to know. After all, our studying and prayers are most often enjoyed alone. But God knows.

We can also think no one can tell, but I wager that others can tell as we respond less well to people and circumstances. Less of the character of Christ begins to flow through us. More snappy. More muttering. More emotionally responsive to the normal irritants of life.

Like Mary, again

When her brother, Lazarus, was ill, she went to her Savior’s feet. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.(John 11:2)

Like Mary, a third time

After her brother, Lazarus, rose from the dead. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (John 12:3)

“Mum’s the word.”

This saying means to be quiet, but I can’t be quiet about this matter. God’s Word is living and active. God’s Word is God-breathed and eternal. By turning its pages, we are nourished; we are changed; we can keep going.

Let’s drink from our roots too.

Picture Explanation: My beautiful mums, for the first time ever. (I have watered them once more for 30 minutes in a bucket and think there was a visible change once again after doing so.) And my dear friend sent me a photo of acorns she saw at Mt. Carmel. After over 20 years of Oaks, people know I love acorns. 

Speaking of knowing God’s Word, which is eternal: If you are interested in being contacted to participate in a One Gritty Blink Bible study, click on the Oaks Ministries link below and send me an email so I can place you on a list to be contacted as online and face-to-face studies are planned. Let’s not just focus on things in this short life, but also what counts for eternity!

Note: No part of my posts are derived from A.I. Thoughts and writing stem from my mind and heart as I process life week-by-week and continue to grow in my understanding of God and how to apply His wisdom to the world around me.

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