Earlier today, I remembered the life of the cactus. A few years back then, during the start of my career, my mentor shared a vision she saw in me or my life. At that time, I was on the verge of waiting for an answer from God about my career. It felt as though I am in a desert, waiting for the rain to pour, and yet there was none. And that is the life of the cactus growing in the desert. So I searched on the internet all about cactus to refresh my memory and here are some of what I’ve found:

• Most cactus lives in habitats subject to at least some drought. Many cacti live in extremely dry environments and were even found in one of the driest places on earth. 
•  Cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. The stem is the only part of most cacti have adapted to store water
• Spines help prevent water loss by reducing airflow close to the cactus and providing some shade.
• Many cacti have roots that spread out widely, but only penetrate a short distance into the soil. 
• Cactus pays a price for their water-saving adaptations — slow growth. Growth may be as little as 1/4 inch per year in the barrel cactus.

Looking at those cactus standing still amid the desert, dry and humid, and even untouched by its nature was able to survive. I just gave myself a pep talk of “going through and growing through” a while ago over my life’s dryness when it comes to my career, dreams, and other personal aspiration. And now, this cactus illustration reminded me of what season I am in right now. Everybody has experienced different seasons of life, and not everyone went through the same experiences in that season. The key to survive is to grow. To grow is to adapt in that season.  Just as the stem of the cactus adapts water, we also need to adapt in the season we are in. Adopt as defined, is a verb that is to make something suitable for a new use or purpose; to modify or become adjusted to new conditions. It means we need to do something; act on something. When we adapt, we don’t just sit through the season we are in. We work our way around, or we find our way through the situation. If you are sitting, tied-up in a chair like a hostage in the movies, you don’t just lose hope and wait for your death to come. You find a way to lose yourself from those ropes. I, too, seemed to be easily dismayed and feel hopeless at times when things go wrong, and especially when things don’t go as planned. I have learned my lesson in accepting things even when they don’t go as planned. By the grace of God, I was able to let go and let God have the steering wheel of my life. And now, as it seems and feels dry to me, I’m learning to grow through the dryness. Survival like the cactus isn’t everything there is to life, but it is everything there is to now. Dryness or drought is just temporary just as the situation you and I face right now is temporary. I must admit, even as I am sharing these thoughts and realization, I am still going through the stage of adapting. And it is hard. Adapting alone is already hard. Even though I have a long list of questions asking myself and sometimes to God.” how long do I have to go through this,” or “how much longer should I go through this”, “what else is going to happen in this season”, ”how am I supposed to cope up with everything?” At times I became confused about my purpose or why do I have to go through all of these things. I sometimes begin to doubt myself if I can overcome this. At times I became confused about my purpose or why do I have to go through all of these things. I sometimes begin to doubt myself if I can overcome this. But the word of God says, “Take heart I have overcome the world.”

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (ESV)

When in times of hopelessness, faithlessness, and doubt remember where you are now is not the final chapter of your story. To adapt is not just to work your way around your situation but having an opportunity to build up that hope, the faith you have, and trust to believe in God for overcoming whatever you are facing in difficulty. We can trust and depend on Him, and find peace in Him amidst everything. So if you’re lik me, a cactus in a season of dryness, standing still in the desert, there is hope in seeing the end of this season. The water-adapted into the stem is what keeps us alive, and that is Jesus. We cannot do anything or live apart from our Maker, apart from the power and authority of Christ. The stem is our hearts. And the structure or the position of our hearts before God will neither allow us to be filled by the living water or will we allow pride, selfishness, excuses, or other things that hinder us to submit to God. The latter most probably will let us die in the desert. If we allow Jesus to enter our hearts, the water flows – His spirit flows. The spine that helps prevent water loss is like the Holy Spirit guiding us. There’s a saying that goes, God will not give us more than what we can bear, but I must add, apart from Him. Without the Holy Spirit convicting us, leading us to righteousness, and keeping us from falling away in our faith we might not see through the end of this season. We might not be able to survive the desert.

As I have said earlier, the key to survive is to grow, and to grow is to adapt. If we won’t embrace the season we are in we might just go round again and again and again until we wither. Unless we learn to accept change, growth will just come around. Adapting is a progress. And so are we. It takes time for you and me to figure out what works and not to survive. But more than that, as long as we keep standing firm on our faith we’ll get through it – we’ll grow through it. Even though some cactus grows ¼ inch every year, it might be slow but still, you are growing. You are progressing. You are surviving….. And you become a better person!
Hang on!
The rain is coming!

Don’t just GO through it, GROW through it.

– Joel Osteen; Stay On The Potter’s Wheel Podcast

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cactus
https://www.desertusa.com/cactus/the-cactus.html