Can't Stand Alone

July 1, 2023

We have several beautiful red flowers, slender and tall, that brighten up the yard. The gladiolus are scattered, with three or four in each of several flower beds. Blooms occur every four to six inches near the middle and top of a four-foot stem. They add a ‘pop’ of color!

The problem growers like me run into is the top-heavy structure of the flower. The profusion of heavy blooms tends to make the flower lay over to the ground or bend in the middle. It’s still colorful, but I’d like it better if it would stand tall.

What a name! I’d give it a more religious name. I’ll get back to that.

I looked up on the internet how to make my glads stand up. One source recommended planting them in tight groups, so they could support each other. Many recommended staking them and tying them to the stake every few inches, preferably with fishing line, to add nearly-invisible support.

Wow! Doesn’t that sound like a religious flower? Call it Disciple Flower, or Sanctification Lily. Do you see the Christian implications here? We can grow into a beautiful follower of God, but we need the support of other Christians, just like my glads do better growing close together. We need to be ‘staked’ to God. And that fishing line? It’s like the Holy Spirit, invisible but always with us to build us and hold us up.

When we’re not standing tall and strong in our faith, we’re like that fallen-over gladiolus. We might or might not be noticed.

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13

“not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25