Amaryllis, Christmas Devotional, Isaiah 9:6 | Debbie Taylor Williams

The amaryllis is perhaps one of my favorite symbols of new life in Jesus. Why? It symbolizes the beauty of resting in Christ and living expectantly. As with many of the traditions I hold dear, this one, too, originates with my mother who bought a red amaryllis bulb at the beginning of the Christmas season. My sister, Vicki, and I enthusiastically watched her bury the ugly brown bulb in a flower pot. Then, we helped her pat the soil around it. As a young child, it was hard to believe that a beautiful red flower would emerge from the dead looking bulb. Every day we would check the bulb searching for a sign of life. Mother faithfully watered the plant and assured us, “It’ll grow.” Finally the day would come. We’d discover a tiny green stem protruding from the bulb. Then the stem would grow before our eyes, becoming taller and stronger each day until finally, pregnant with life, it bloomed. That which had been brown and lifeless emerged with red showy flowers. It was only natural that I continued the tradition with our children and explained the spiritual significance of each stage of the plant. First, in order to be who Christ intends us to be, we must identify with Him in His death. Dying to ourselves includes burying ourselves in the Bible to learn His ways. It means filling our dry souls with the daily flow of the Holy Spirit who is as living water within us. We must also rest in Christ and trust Him for our growth, knowing that as my mother assured us about the amaryllis, “It’ll grow,” so we will one day emerge in heaven in full bloom. So will our Christian children. Be assured, sweet friends, in times when there seems to be no activity and no growth, “God is causing the growth,” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

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