On my last trip to Walt Disney World with my parents, we were coming out of the Mexico pavilion in EPCOT when I saw all of these beautiful orchids growing in the trees. Yes, these are the kind of things your adult-eyes can notice without the cloud of surrounding children…you know, the ones who call you Mom!
“Those are parasites,” my Dad said. Really? I was intrigued.
Apparently this is a hot button topic in the orchid community, with the majority stating that orchids are not actually parasites, but a type of plant called an epiphyte, or air plant. However, orchids are described as clinging to trees and other plants as a growth habit.
What are you clinging to? What’s your growth habit?
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. Psalm 68:3
…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 3:18
I wish I’d taken a picture of it (hindsight), but as we continued down the path at EPCOT, I noticed large grooves in the trunks of several of the surrounding trees. Plants had held on so tightly that their vines had left permanent etchings in the solid wood.
I’ve always been struck by this verse:
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
Let that sink in…without Jesus you can do NOTHING! Told you it was striking. If a plant knows to hold on that tightly to something larger and infinitely stronger than itself, shouldn’t we?
I used to work in a wedding shop. We’d get weekly floral deliveries and I remember the careful way that orchids were packed. If a bride had ordered orchids for her bouquet, they came to us wrapped in tissue. It was something special to open them.
God sees us as special, and “wraps” His children more carefully than orchids.
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10
I’m willing to let the experts have their say on the orchids. Just remember that as Christians, dependency on our Host is paramount for survival. So go ahead and call me a parasite…I’m digging in!