A CAPE JASMINE BUSH

Written by Luz Leigh – 26 May 2008

      Cape Jasmine, or as some call it, gardenia. I love the fragrance of the cape jasmine blossoms. In my yard there is a bush over six feet tall and with a circumference of ……well, it’s bushy. The buds on it are beginning to open, so this morning I clipped two to bring inside. I really hate to clip them, because I want my neighbors to enjoy them too. I have the two I clipped in a crystal vase with colored marbles, from my childhood, in the bottom of the vase. The fragrance is beginning to fill the room in which I am typing.

      As I was working around the cape jasmine bush this morning, my thoughts went back to my mother. She loved to view the big bush that grew near her bedroom windows, but as the asthma became worse in the last years of her life, the odor from the blossoms overpowered her. It was hard for her to breathe, so my daddy, always the kind loving husband, dug up that huge shrub and moved it across the yard. He planted it near the garage where Mother could still see it, but the strong fragrance did not reach her room. You have to remember those were the days prior to air conditioning, so windows were opened most months of the year.

      The bush in my yard is something of a miracle. You see, I have what is known as a “brown” thumb when it comes to horticulture. Years ago one of my sons for a brief period of time lived in a small house near me. There in the yard grew a huge, beautiful cape jasmine bush. One day while at his home, I broke off a limb about fifteen inches long, loaded with blossoms. I placed it in a vase in my kitchen window. When the blossoms died, I decided to try something. I left the branch in the vase and kept water in it until finally I noticed some little sprouts. Over the years I had watched my mother-in-law do that (I think she could have stuck a broom straw in a glass of water and grown a broom). Finally, I got enough courage to plant my little cape jasmine “limb” in the yard. That little twig got more attention than some children do. It was fertilized and watered as needed and it began to grow….and grow…and grow.

      When I look at my shrub, I see it as a reminder of how the Lord gives second growth to not just plants, but human lives. You see, my son was going through a very difficult time in his life when I planted the little twig, but after many years of heartaches and trouble, the Lord rescued him. His life has taken root and is growing in the Lord. Just as that shrub grew slowly, but is now something beautiful, so is the life of my elder son. He walks closely with the Lord, ever listening for guidance from his heavenly Father. In the same manner that my shrub receives nourishment from me, my son gains knowledge and wisdom from the Giver of life.

      Did you ever notice that when a human hand touches the petals of the cape jasmine blossom the snow white color will darken to an ugly brown? So it is with our lives. We are born without sin, pure, unblemished, until we reach the age of accountability. Then sin enters our lives and causes a stain on us. That stain can only be removed by being covered by the blood of our savior Jesus Christ. When we recognize that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NIV), we can then walk the Romans Road to Salvation. Confess, believe, repent (turn from sin), accept God’s gift of salvation. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NIV) “for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, will be saved.” (Romans 10:13 NIV) I believe that one must believe and accept when calling upon the Lord. HIS Word is TRUTH.