Our Chief and Highest Function
A gift from my mother-in-law
Dear Parents,
I first remember seeing a Christmas cactus in full bloom in 2004. I was at my future in-laws’ house and was struck by its beauty — deep green foliage and a profusion of stunning flowers. They had at least a dozen of these stretching across the full length of the bay window that overlooked the backyard. Fuchsia, white, glorious red. I could hardly believe it.
Not long after, I met another Christmas cactus. This one lived in the Arlington home of the grandparents of my friend, Corrie. She was helping them sort and pack in preparation for a move across the country, and I wondered what would become of that plant. It was enormous. How could they possibly move it? Would it have to stay behind with the house?
A common refrain I hear about these beloved plants is that they are passed down from one generation to the next. Among my in-laws’ collection, one plant came from a cutting from my mother-in-law’s mother. And my friend, Corrie, did end up inheriting that cactus from her grandmother.
My own collection has gradually grown, too. My prized Christmas cactus was a gift from my mother-in-law. When I expressed interest, she gladly shared from her bounty — which has now spread from the bay window to the rest of the house — and now it is up to me to care for these generational plants.
I’m not sure there are many other houseplants with quite the same reputation for family inheritance. A gift of a Christmas cactus is a little like the gift of faith we hope to pass to our children and grandchildren. Of course, faith isn’t something we hand over the way we pass along a plant — it’s God’s gift and the work of His Spirit in each heart.
But like these heirloom plants, faith is something we tend, cultivate, and make room for. A Christmas cactus flourishes quietly over years: fed by light, shaped by the rhythms of the seasons, strengthened in times of neglect, and finally bursting into bloom almost as if by surprise.
In much the same way, the life of faith often grows slowly and unseen, nourished by the habits, prayers, and patterns that fill an ordinary home.
“The chief thing, the highest function, is as a revealer of God to your children,” Charlotte Mason reminds us.
If our children see us busy with the things of the world, they too will be busy with the things of the world. If they see us attending to the things of God, they too will learn to attend to the things of God.
In this Advent season, may we remember that a lived example of faith is a gift that blesses not just our children, but our children’s children, extending further than we will ever see.
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” — Deuteronomy 7:9
Merry Christmas!
Krise