Spider plants are great – you really don’t have to look after them much. Excellent for me then!
A few months ago I was given some babies with the instruction: “It’s best not to water them too much as drier soil encourages them to put down strong roots while they search for a drink. Ultimately they’ll grow better.”
Well, they’re certainly growing 😁
And this made me think. Spider plant philosophy can be applied to our lives – when challenges, difficulties and struggles come there’s often a period of growth afterwards. The phrase: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is so often applicable.
I heard something interesting recently via Lectio 365 about the Desert Fathers and Mothers (some early Christian people who went into the desert wilderness to pursue God without distraction). While we may see struggle as a bad thing, they thought differently. They believed nothing bad happens except sin and separation from God. So even suffering, temptation and spiritual attack could be an opportunity for personal growth and spirit-filled purification.
Have you experienced this at all? I know I have (see e.g. could-this-song-help-you-manage-depression).
But isn’t it great that God provides us with such examples from His Creation? I like to think He made nature how He did just to comfort us amidst our storms (e.g. Matt 8:23-27, Ps 23:4, 2 Cor 1:3-5 ). Next time you wonder why nature has things so tough or is so violent at times, think of the poor little spider plant searching and searching for water. But growing healthy and strong because of it.
As the spider plant grows through challenging circumstances, so will you.
God bless xx