Warning! Do Not Touch!

    There are several granite boulders strewn around our backyard. One area in particular is a raised mound of decomposed granite, a perfect place for growing plants which need little or no water. Over the years, we have planted several types of cactus in this spot, which along with some ceramic desert tortoises, old bottles and rocks gathered by members of the family make an attractive “garden.”

     There is a tall, tree-shaped, ‘night-blooming’ cactus (Cereus) which was given to us by my parents about twenty-five years ago. It came from the huge night-bloomer growing outside their mobile home in Bakersfield and is now the largest specimen in our garden. It’s my very favorite, because of the memories attached and also because of its large white flowers, which bloom only at night during the summer months.

      Another of my favorites is the “Old Man” Cactus (Cephalocereus senilis), native to Mexico. Only about three feet tall, it is covered with long white ‘hairs, which give it a soft appearance. Several years ago, a tiny shoot grew out of its base—and now there are two, a hairy old man with his look-alike grandson.

     I remember seeing barrel cacti (Echinocactus) on our trips to the desert when I was a child. We have a fairly small one in the garden; however, they can grow up to four feet high. They are very attractive, with yellow spines and yellow flowers in the summer.

     The prickly pear cactus spreads easily and has to be pruned back so that it doesn’t overrun the area. Pruning it is tricky due to all of the spines. A friend recently picked up one of its reddish fruit without realizing that it too was covered with stickers. She had to use tweezers to get them out of her fingers afterwards.

      All varieties of cactus have this one thing in common—stickers. Some are more dangerous than others, like the cholla, which is called “the jumping cactus” for a reason. Its thorns are hooked at the end and are very painful to remove. Coming too close can result in a piece of barbed cactus attached to the skin. Ouch!

     One of our former cats happened to rub up against the base of the cholla. Not only did it stick to her back, but also to her mouth and paws when she tried to get it off. We had to take her down to the vet so that he could remove all of the thorns while she was sedated. Poor kitty! We finally decided to have it completely removed from the garden. It was just too dangerous with pets and people around.

     Whenever Al needs to weed or prune in the cactus garden, he puts on a long-sleeved shirt and jeans along with gloves, his “jungle” hat and work boots. I usually try to keep a safe distance from it, after many painful encounters with cacti during my life-time, including accidently bumping into one while rock-hunting with my family in the desert.

      All of this to say, messing around with sin, with things we know are wrong can be compared to playing in the cactus garden. Anything defined as sin has consequences, no matter how insignificant the sin might seem. Eventually, we are going to have pain. If God says that something is wrong, we must take Him seriously and avoid it.

      Help us, Oh Lord, to make right choices. Please give us strength to walk away from those things which will cause us to sin and fall away from you. In Jesus’ name Amen.

 “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” Prov. 3:7-8 NIV

Golden Torch cactus in bloom--photos by Al Lowery

(published in the Porterville Recorder, Sept. 2014)