(Our youngest child turned 38 2/10/03. He sent this piece and picture for his slot in our Purple Paper. I believe I’m supposed to share it with you. Remember, he and his wife, Beth, produced their first child, Milena, who came on MY birthday, 2/15. Of course, she turns 4 and I turn 65!)

I prefer to grow plants I can eat. My reasoning is if I’m going to use up all that space, water, time, and effort, I want to do more than just look at it. I am well aware that I am in the minority. Most all of my neighbors derive immense satisfaction from their lush, green lawns. Half of my back yard is a pea-gravel play area for the kids, and the other half is a vegetable garden.

During the recent drought, I let the grass in my front yard turn the color of slightly burned toast.

A noticeable exception to this preference is the lone potted plant in my house. It is a Christmas Cactus grown from a cutting of a plant that has been in our extended family for years. I usually manage to water it. Thank goodness it is a desert plant, that can handle long stretches without water. I did manage to notice, over time, that it had stopped growing. I kept watering it, and even gave it some plant food. While it seemed healthy enough, there hadn’t been any new growth in quite a while.

Some visiting friends noticed the cactus up on the mantle. I mentioned the curious lack of new growth. They were amazed at my ignorance, and politely pointed out that this rather large plant was still in the little pot used for the original cutting. My only other plants are the vegetables, and the vegetable garden is big enough that I hardly ever worry about root size. When I carefully lifted out the cactus to put it in a larger pot, the root ball had almost completely displaced the dirt! It was a solid mass of roots. The poor plant had been trying to grow, but was constrained by the rigid walls of the small pot.

It made me think about my own spiritual growth. Sure, I had been attending church regularly and reading my Bible periodically. But, where was the new growth? There weren’t any obvious problems in my spiritual life, just like my cactus appeared to be healthy. After pondering it for a while, I realized that I had not done anything new for the Lord in quite a while. So, I volunteered to help with a ministry at church that I had never tried before. While I haven’t yet seen the dramatic growth that my cactus has, I do feel refreshed and renewed in my Christian walk.

For the first time in a long time, almost every branch of the cactus has new growth. There are even a few blooms forming. While not miraculous, I’m sure that the new growth is good for the plant and will give it an even better chance of surviving any long stretches without water. New spiritual growth is even more important to a Christian, and will also help when rough times come along. Think about areas of your spiritual life that haven’t seen much growth lately, and think about ways to give your spiritual roots some room to grow.

SOME SELECTED RESPONSES TO “THEM TIMES, THEY ARE A CHANGIN'”

– I am 55. Yuck! My 31 yrs. daughter says you don’t look that old! I, on the other hand, keep hitting escape on the old computer, but nothing happens.

– What a great newsletter! We all start to reminisce as we get older. Ha Ha! I do it all the time. I wish I could say that I wouldn’t change a thing, but I can’t do that. I made many really bad choices in my life and am not proud of most of them. Thank God, He is a forgiving and forgetting Savior. I did have eight beautiful children in spite of all my mistakes, though, so I must have done something right. Now I have almost twelve grandchildren. The last will be born next month. I have been blessed.

The pic of the mold you sent is something. No wonder Pat got sick. I’m surprised you didn’t, too, Jerry. I’m so glad that she is home safe and sound now. I’ll bet you were happy to see each other. God Bless you both. May only good things happen from now on.

– Yeh! Think about it! Hard to believe we’re this old. I’ll be 65 in July, you know & will have to see Medicare before that day, too. (When the real you is on the inside, looking out, you don’t realize the age – don’t “feel” any older than before – the rubber hits the road when I get up to move! – Ha! – However, that is getting better & better since I am faithful to work out 3 times per week)

– Do “I” feel old? Absolutely not. My sense of humor coupled with my positive attitude, have been the basis of keeping me going when times get rough or good…

Though things may come and go, they are only things… God has richly blessed me with things that are not materialistic… and I do feel richly blessed… I try to remember to thank the Lord each and every day for all the goodness that He has planted around me… My family is the biggest and the best of these blessings…

I don’t expect to be signing any contracts like Paul Harvey, but I do know that the Lord will let me live for as long as He has a job for me to do or someone whom I can help… So, look out world, I am still here… even if I will turn 66 this month. In other words, I am still kicking. Maybe not as high, but still kicking. Thank you for your article on age.

– I will be 66 on the 25th of this month. Sometimes I feel like I will be 150. Other times, I feel like I am still in my 30’s. Whoopppeeee…

Well, the way you write about everyday things sure do come out interesting. Your articles make people see things in a different light rather than just accept something and go on. It give them a chance to take another look at their life and say, “Wow”, that is what happens to me… now why didn’t I see that… smiles.

– We’re one day apart in our birthday celebrations – mine is the 16th – year 1950. Where, oh, where did the time go? I, too, enjoy reflecting and “yes”, there were some tough times, but God saw us through. So many things to be thankful for, and as my grandmother use to say, “If you have your faith, family and your health, all is well”. Yes, material things, are just that – things which can be replaced. But, family and friends, once lost, can never be replaced. We should all treasure our days, with thanks to the One who has given us His love so that we may share it with others. GOD BLESS.