Obedient Plant (08/28/2025)

Yesterday I went to visit a friend. We sat in her front yard and enjoyed her garden as we drank tea and chatted. I noticed a beautiful light purple flower that I couldn’t identify. So, I asked about it. My friend told me it was the obedient plant. I laughed. She told me again and stressed that she was serious, that was its common name. And I was immediately smitten with a beautiful bloom and its name.

I went home and looked it up. It really is the called the obedient plant because when a human moves its blossoms, the blossoms will obey the human touch and remain where they are moved. And when I learned the wondrous habit and ability of this plant to “obey,” I found myself thinking of myself on my journey. How I wish that I were obedient like this plant, that when the LORD moved me through a moment of grace and loving mercy, that I would stay the course, stay in that state, in that position.

But alas, I must tell you, the LORD has to frequently move me multiple times before I settle into obedience. I can’t tell you how many times I have sworn to the LORD that I see “the way” He is trying to point out to me and that I will stay on the path, and then something catches my attention, and I stray or the path becomes difficult, and I fudge a bit or abandon the practice completely. How I wish I were more like the obedient plant.

“The LORD is kind and merciful.” I must also admit that Psalm 103:8 is one of my favorite psalm verses. I am afraid that may be because I need to call upon the LORD for mercy more than most. But this morning, as I began my day, the image of that beautiful flowering plant in my friend’s garden dominated my thoughts. And I found myself asking the LORD for the grace to become more “obedient” like that plant. And I thought of the root of the word “obedient” in so many languages – especially Hebrew – it means to hear the voice – “shema ha qol” – Hear the voice of. Lord, I pray, open my ears, my eyes, my mind, my heart and my soul and as You lovingly touch me and move me, may I remain where You desire for me to be.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.