What kind of plant are you?

In an attempt to post something other than pregnancy talk, I've switched topics to horticulture. Hmm, sounds intriguing, huh?

As I was watering my plants the other day, I thought of my mums. Last year I bought a huge pot of bright white mums and set it at the edge of my shrubs. Now my gardening skills may not even be a good as my sewing skills, but at least I can water them (well, usually-don't ask my husband to confirm that).

My mums were beautiful (because someone else planted them, I'm sure). They did their thing and died. I left them in the pot, even though someone mentioned that if I'd put them in the ground, they'd come back the next year. This year, I pulled the dead stems out and refilled it (not so beautifully) with mums from Wal-Mart.

While working with my flowers, I thought about our spiritual lives. Are we annuals or perennials? Annuals have to be replanted each year, but perennials come back on their own. Do we only pull out our generosity and thanksgiving at the holidays? Even the world does this. How are we to be different, to be set apart?

We are called to have our spiritual fruit ripening year round, aren't we? Don't we want to be perennials?

I'm challenging myself to analyze my thoughts and actions this holiday season (which is on us by the way, Jack in the Box is offering holiday themed drinks, so it's official). It's easy to get stirred up emotionally this time of year. Would I act the same in January or is my "holiday spirit" simply that-for the sake of the holidays?