While shopping for a house welcoming gift, my husband and I, we had finally decided on a houseplant as a gift for close friends. That is when we had chanced upon the potted version of the “money tree plant”. Pachira acquatica ( a.k.a the Malabar chestnut, French peanut, Provision tree), a tropical wetland tree is native to Central and South America where it grows as a tropical wetland tree. Surprisingly, this is sold as a houseplant with it’s trunks braided. What the reason maybe ( the seller didn’t know why), the braided trunk supports the big leaves quite well, giving the plant a wholly aesthetic and balanced look.
“Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is thread, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years.” Simone Signoret
These “braided trunks” are what one needs when going through a tough spot. The courage to bear the weight through tough times doesn’t happen when the weight is born on one lone spindly stalk. Instead when a cumulative support is given, the entire matter is sorted through and one learns to rise and stand tall and strong. Relationships are never bound by chains. If ever done so, those very chains rust over time, breaking away to fine powders and falling apart with the links scattered.
“A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).
When these chains are held together not just by strength but by fine braids of feelings, emotions and positive associations; tendrils of love, kindness and warmth grow along and support each one through the thick and thin. Relationships grow stronger with stability, closeness and strength in God. Marriage, friendships as well as family ties require nurturing. Not just with love and kindness, merging these bonds with His Word and His Teachings abounds one with an endless source of love, grace and hope. On looking back, these are what brings a smile to the tired mind, body and soul. To experience life to the fullest, it entails one learning to hold these tiny threads above the chains. This difference is what holds the memories alive, making each day enriched and memorable over the years.
“It’s all those stories and how they braid together that tells us who and what and where we are.” Charles de Lint
Sugar And Spice... Among Other Things 