“You’re a pansy!” “Don’t be such a pansy!” “This isn’t for pansies!”
I’ve never given much thought to put-down phrases like these, even though I’ve used them before and probably had similar words directed at my own wimpy or fearful reaction to a challenge. Calling someone a pansy in our culture is not a compliment! It implies that you are somehow weak, frail, childish or even totally useless. I now know why the pansy has earned such a ‘faint-hearted’ reputation and I’ve come to the conclusion that prayer is for pansies!
Let me explain. It all started back in the late spring once the danger of frost had finally passed (hey – I live in northern Alberta!) and I began to think about bringing bursts of color into my yard. For some reason, as I went to greenhouses and farmer’s markets, I was drawn to the beautiful array of pansies available. I just had to have several of every color and variety – yellow, purple, blue, white, pink, orange, two-tone, three-tone – you name it! Of, course, I’d grown pansies before, but this year, it was to become my ‘theme’ flower!
Happily, I stuffed planters, pots and baskets with their cheerful little bloomin’ faces and admired their boldness and beauty! I carefully tended them, keeping the soil mulched and watered and enjoying just the right amount of sun. Their velvety petals were wonderful nestled in with other plants or bunched together like little schoolgirls!
When it came time to depart for our family vacation, I gave care instructions to our college –bound daughter, who would be staying home to work at her summer job and look after the place while we were gone. Feeling totally exhausted from a very busy year of work, ministry and family commitments, I was looking forward to some ‘down-time’ away from the phone, computers and responsibility – the freedom to do as I pleased! Enjoying her new adult status, our daughter was looking forward to having the house all to herself – and the freedom to do as she pleased!
The vacation was wonderful – lots of hot sunny days of rest and relaxation! No deadlines, no schedule, no routine, but also no privacy. And although I was being physically and emotionally restored every day, my quiet times of prayer and meditating on the Word were squeezed into small corners of time, often interrupted, or postponed while we visited new people and places or even outright neglected, resolving to do it tomorrow. As the holiday time lengthened, my prayers shortened. This “freedom to do as I pleased” wasn’t doing much for my spiritual well being.
Meanwhile, back at the ‘Pansy Palace’, “freedom to do as she pleased” wasn’t working out so good for my pansies. In a phone call home a few days before we were to return, my daughter prepared me for what was ahead. “Mom, some of your plants aren’t looking so good.” And sure enough, although everything else was in good order, my plants were audibly gasping as we drove up the driveway!
“What happened?” I asked as I searched for a bloomin’ happy face, a velvety petal or even a green leaf in the barren pots. “Well, first it rained a lot, so I didn’t water, not realizing the plants under the eaves don’t get rain, then I went to……and then the girls came over…..and I was busy…and it kind of got away on me….I’m sorry.” Her face fell as she confessed that she didn’t realize how much responsibility came with her new freedom.
The next day, the two of us headed out to the garden to deadhead, tear out the thriving weeds and try to salvage what was left of the plants. As I sadly clipped off the shriveled stems and crusty flowers I grumbled to myself, “How hard would it have been to take 20 minutes out of her busy social life to water and look after my plants? I had a lot invested in these things.”
The Spirit of God spoke right to my heart. “Yeah. I know just how you feel. You were so parched from life and I wanted to refresh your soul, mulch the soil of your life, prune and deadhead your dryness. But you were just so busy doing what you wanted to do. See what’s left of these pansies? They can’t flourish for long without constant care and attention from a loving gardener. Neither can you because you’re such a pansy. I have so much invested in you – I just longed for you to seek my face that you might reflect my power and glory. I wanted to water your soul. ”
The psalmist, David, put it best when he said, “ I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.” (Psalm 143: 6) The prayer-less believer is a parched believer – prone to weakness, fear, fainting and withering – a real pansy!! Jesus Christ knows our weakness (see 2 Cor. 12 : 8-10) yet still chooses to reflect His glory through our lives when we remember what pansies we really are, submit our lives to His lordship and seek Him with our whole hearts. We ‘pansies’ desperately need to be under the gentle loving care and pruning of “the Master Gardener” through prayer, meditation on the Word of God and exercising our faith if we are to going to survive in this hostile world!
So, pray on, all you pansies. Meditate on His Word! Praise Him for His mercy! Give thanks! Confess your sins and weaknesses! Make your requests known! Pray for the needs of others! Lift your bloomin’ faces to reflect the glory due His name!
Sandy Semenyna, BGCC WM Nat’l Prayer Coordinator
