What girl didn’t think she was extra special when she received an orchid? They are exotic and beautiful. Their fragrance is the most beautiful perfume. To watch an orchid plant produce a bud and see the bud open is a thrill. But orchids aren’t exactly what they appear to be.

While the orchid blossom is easily bruised or broken, it can be long-lived. I grew orchids for years and I found a lovely red cattleya on a buying trip. Baxter’s favorite color is red, so I purchased it. This orchid would begin to bloom in early February. I would take it to his office and put it on his desk to enjoy during tax season. Those blooms would last until early May. I don’t mean that the plant would continue to make new blooms and keep blooming…oh no. The same blossom lasted all those months.

Seems difficult to believe, doesn’t it? That something so delicate had such staying power? But it did.

Consider this about the orchid. Although the flower is delicate, those plants are tough. My sweet cousin, Margaret Ann Fincher would always tell me, “These orchids thrive on neglect.” While she did not mean to never water or fertilize or check for pests on them, she did mean they were not delicate and did not enjoy being “over cared for”. The orchids are strong.

When I would be in the greenhouse, I just marveled. Such tough long-lived plants. Beautiful delicate tender blossoms. Wondrous fragrance. Maybe we should be orchids. Tough and strong because we belong to the Father yet possessing tender hearts that outlast hate and the ugliness of the world…producing the fragrance of Christ in our lives that draws men, women, and children to Christ.

Orchids are so beautiful. Let’s be orchids for Jesus…