Several years ago I wanted to have indoor plants. So I chose to buy a Peace Lily because it’s one of the most “indestructible” plants. I researched aspects of taking care of the Peace Lily and, feeling empowered to care for this plant, I did everything I thought it needed: I would water it once or twice a week, I would fertilize it regularly, I even repotted it so it could grow bigger.
Too much
Slowly, it’s leaves started to turn brown and the Peace Lily began to die. I tried to do everything I could to save it, to no avail. The problem was that I was actually caring too much for it. I also wasn’t listening to what the plant actually needed. I was only caring for it as I thought was best, unfortunately to its demise.
A main reason why Peace Lilies are so easy to care for is that they actually thrive with as little care as possible. As I started to learn this, my first Peace Lily officially died. Then, I was given another – a second chance to care for this plant as I had learned from the first!
The Wisdom of the Peace Lily
After having the second Peace Lily for about 2 years, it began to flower. I was filled with excitement to see this sign of health from my plant! I laughed as I thought about my first Lily and how badly I had taken care of it in contrast to my present one, which was thriving.
I had learned, from the first one, to actually listen to the plant. I would feel the soil with my hand and would only water it if it was dry. I would only fertilize it when I would see new leaves starting to grow. And, I left it in the same size pot, now knowing that Lilies prefer having their roots a bit more snug in their pot.
I was struck with the fact that what felt to me like caring less for this plant, was actually allowing it to grow best. This made me think about many lessons I have learned in the past couple of years in ministry. People and ministries do better when we care for them with open hands and a trust in Christ and His work. Too often we try to have as much control as possible over what He has entrusted to us.
People as Peace Lilies
It is so easy to try to micromanage people, to own the vision for their lives and try to take control. We believe we see exactly what they need and so, we start to get involved in ways that can actually do more harm than good.
We start to place our identity in helping others grow. We become angry when people don’t do things the way we think they should be done. We forget that God loves the people we are trying to love even more than we do. We forget that He has an even greater vision for their life and knows exactly what that person needs and in what moment to produce what He is fostering in their lives.
Once we remember that He is the one doing the work, and we get to participate, we can set people free from the tyranny of “leadership” and into the freedom of walking by the power of the Holy Spirit. If we exemplify this sort of trust in Christ, then we, in turn, are training others to lean on the true Leader.
Servant Leadership
This is a counterintuitive “releasing” sort of servanthood. It is an action of letting go, of surrender. We ask for Christ to do His work in His timing, and not our own. We often think we need to do more to see fruit. We feel we need to be in control of every detail trying to keep a tight grip on the person or situation or we feel everything could fall apart.
We can hold people with open hands offered up to our King, trusting that He is truly good. Trusting that Him in His work; that His timing really is perfect. It’s easy to become impatient, frustrated, even angry when things don’t go the way we believe they should.
How painful it is when people make decisions we believe aren’t best for them, when they don’t fully commit to something that would be so helpful for them, when they resist the Christ’s love for them. Yet we see Him wooing them to Himself and in time He offers the freedom they clearly need, we can trust His process and imitate Him in this same way, planting seeds of love and opportunities for goodness in the lives of those around us.
Re-orienting
When we turn our gaze from ourselves and those around us to Christ, we can experience true freedom in ministering to those around us. We will actually be able to love more freely and unconditionally because we aren’t looking for a result. We will be able to share the good news more deeply because we are actively experiencing its fruit within us daily. We will be able to have true friendships because we can now interact with people as friends and not as projects.
Loving people can be sacrificial but when we don’t trust God, we add unnecessary complication to the process. Who can you love freely right now? Is there someone you may need to lovingly release and let the Spirit work? Is there some ministry that you feel that you are “building” that you need to turn over to Christ?
We are called to cast our burdens on Him, Christ tells us that His burden is light and easy and we can come to Him with our weariness. It seems that He has hidden these sorts of truths in things as simple as Peace Lilies! May the wisdom of the Peace Lily encourage you to trust in the Lord with all your heart and not to lean on your own understanding and perspectives. May it allow you to acknowledge Him in all your ways and with all those around you knowing that He will make both your path and theirs straight.
About the Author
Share this Post