When Cacti Become Relatable

Hi Cheabae,

After what happened at the musical, I can’t call you “bae” without laughing. 😀

Your last two posts made me so happy. I almost cried while reading them. You have grown so strong since I met you two (???) years ago. I was thinking about how you’ve become more comfortable with yourself and unashamed of embracing the weird. 🙂 You don’t shy away from expressing yourself and meeting new people like you used to. You out here makin me a proud bean!

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Moving on to the main point of this post….I think I have a point (pun unintended). Do I?

YES!

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So, a few nights ago I had the opportunity to plant succulents at school for FREE. I arrived early to make sure I got the bestest, cutest succulent they had to offer. I was prepared to fight someone if they took a succulent I wanted. However, I wasn’t the only one with this idea as there was already a decent line when I got there. I joined the other passionate succulent-lovers and eyed the table of plants. They had an array of tiny plants, including cacti! I decided I wanted, no, NEEDED a cactus.

By the time I reached the front of the line, there was one cactus left. Now, this cactus wasn’t the most beautiful. It had a big, bright yellow thing on it’s tip. I looked around me at the people who had snatched up all of the cacti with the dark red tops that looked so much more aesthetically pleasing and wondered if there were any extra cacti lying around. But, the more I scrutinized this yellow cactus, the more I wanted it. It was kinda cute to me, and my gut was telling me to take it.

As I looked over all of the succulents, still hesitant to go for the cactus, I witnessed several people making fun of the plant that was tugging on my heart. There were people saying it was ugly, and the yellow was too obnoxious. I saw two different people pick it up and then decide against adopting it. Each time someone snatched up my cactus, I sucked in my breath hoping they wouldn’t want it. I really wanted that cactus for some reason.

Finally, I decided to just take the dang cactus. I went with my gut, and you know what? I am so glad I did. That cactus made me happy the rest of the night. I couldn’t stop smiling over my new, adorable cactus that I loved even if others thought badly of it.

Later, I joked with my friend about my cactus saying, “It’s me! Prickly, but cute!” We laughed about how I managed to relate to a cactus. Well, she may have been laughing out of exasperation. (hi exit buddy if you’re reading this!) But, the next day, it hit me just how much I related to this cactus.

Now, it’s gonna get weird and deep.

I often feel like that cactus– unwanted because there are so many other options that are so much better, prettier, less annoying. I feel like people abandon me once they realize they can befriend a much nicer person who’s easier to be around. (I’m pretty sure the cactus I took is harder to care of than the others.)

But, like the cactus, there is one person who constantly chooses me despite my flaws. One person who never gives up one me and will stick by my side even when others put me down… Jesus.

Jesus loves me when I can be prickly. He chose me to be His child even though there are millions of succulents, err people, that would probably be better than me at serving Him. But, that’s the thing. He doesn’t focus on what I’m not good at. Jesus acknowledges my good qualities and uses them for His will. He grows and shapes me so that I can follow the plan He has. Just like I’m going to water that cactus and devote time into taking care of it, Jesus takes care of me. Unlike the way I’ll probably accidentally kill my cactus, Jesus won’t forget about me. He’ll continue to choose me as long as I choose Him. People can act however they choose towards me– it doesn’t matter. What matters is that Jesus died and rose again for me. What matters is that Jesus doesn’t turn me away for not being good enough. In His eyes, I AM good enough. I am perfect to Him.

And that is how I found a way to relate to a tiny, pokey plant. Yes, I’m weird. But, that cactus taught me a pretty valuable lesson and served as a reminder of how loving God is towards everyone. Plus, my cactus story makes for a pretty good blog post.

Also, my beautiful lil cactus is named Wanda. Wanda is awesome.

Love,

Ang