Year 8-Day 237: Today, I am grateful for the hyacinth bean vine.
I adore this plant. I grow it from seed. It usually goes in the ground around Mother's Day, but do not expect it to shoot out of the ground for several weeks. In fact, I always worry the seeds didn't work... and then the first shoot comes through. After the initial pop, it seems to quickly cover the trellis at the mailbox. These lovely purple blooms do not arrive until August.
The purple blooms are showy and always capture the attention of passersby. Strangers have stopped to ask what it was and I MUST give full credit to my friend, Carla J Voros, for researching the plant name. My first seeds came from a co-worker (thanks Jill Parod). I let the plant "go to seed" and collect dried bean-pods in the fall.
Sometimes, I plant too many seeds. I can't help myself. I love it full. One year, the mailbox broke under the weight of the vine. The Love of My Life patiently replaced the mailbox and post with something stronger. He knows that growing it every year brings me great joy.
Honestly, it is successful because it requires very little care. We humans are not so easy. We require God's breath, His attention, His patience and persistence. I am grateful for His attention to detail in our lives, just like the gardener knows the vines in his care, our Heavenly Father knows our needs. This verse fits for today:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you." -John 15:1-3
The vine and the vine-dresser have a purpose. The vine that doesn't bear fruit is pruned.
Today, I am grateful for the hyacinth bean vine.
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