When the Orchid Doesn't Bloom

I have an orchid Nick gave me on our 11th anniversary, which we celebrated April 16, 2005. This was shortly after we started our marriage counseling, and rather quickly, I latched onto it as symbol of our marriage and the work that we were beginning together. I kept it by my quiet time retreat, where I could see it every morning as I prayed and read my Bible.

The orchid has been the perfect object lesson for me. Orchids are slow-growing, require an exacting set of environmental conditions for healthy growth and are very sensitive to changes in their environment. They die rather quickly when the environment becomes unhealthy, so it takes time and attention to raise orchids. And, as I learned in counseling, it takes focused effort, time and attention to grow and maintain a good marriage.

All that spring and summer of 2005 the orchid bloom represented hope and a future during the very difficult and hard work of marriage counseling. I was astounded at how long the bloom stayed strong and beautiful, but in the late summer the bloom began to wither. Finally, I had to remove it, just about the time we graduated from marriage counseling.

So began a period of fertilizing, watering, and caring for both my orchid and my marriage.
The orchid did not bloom in 2006.
The orchid did not bloom in 2007.
The orchid did not bloom in 2008.
It still showed no signs of blooming the morning of our 15th anniversary, April 16, 2009 as I sat down in my retreat place to pray. I put on the soundtrack from The Passion, and looked over at the orchid. I noticed at once that I had a peace in my heart about it that had been lacking in prior years. I wasn’t angry or discouraged for once. What could this mean?

My Bible passage for the morning was Acts Chapter 9, the story of Saul’s conversion on the Damascus Road. Saul has encountered the risen Jesus in a blinding flash of light on the road. The men he is traveling with have been rendered speechless, as they assist Saul to his feet and lead him into the city for Saul opened his eyes, but could not see.

The story continues in Acts 9:9, 17 and 18:

For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.[…] Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again.

What caught my attention were the words, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see again. I prayed, “Lord what is it you need to me to see this morning?”

I have desperately prayed for my orchid to bloom again, yet year after year it does not bloom. On this morning as I prayed something like scales fell away from my eyes and I saw my orchid as if for the first time. And through it, I saw my marriage in a new light.

The tallest set of inner leaves that first budded in 2006 had grown from the size of my thumbnail into tall, deep green, glossy leaves. Nestled underneath a pair from the spring of 2007, and underneath those tucked toward the back was the most recent pair from 2008. How could I have missed their beauty all these years? My longing for the orchid bloom blinded me to the beauty of the leaves.

Until that morning, I think a part of me believed that the orchid not blooming represented failure. Now I see with new eyes. The orchid plant directed its energy to the leaves and roots rather than to producing a bloom. In the same way these past four years, Nick and I have directed our energy to the roots and leaves that will sustain our marriage and build a storehouse of reserves from which we may one day send forth an orchid bloom.

I have a new appreciation for my orchid and my marriage. A bloom would be lovely, and I pray that we may yet have one. But if it never blooms again, that is okay too. The orchid will always be beautiful in my eyes for its sturdy leaves represent so much progress that I had failed to appreciate. Nick and I are beautiful together in God’s eyes, bloom or not, until death do us part.

Not too long after this experience, as I read Habakkuk for my Bible study, I came upon this beautiful poem of praise and trust in the Lord during times of drought and trial.

Habakkuk 3:17-19:
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.