Minister’s Message: What do we have to lose?
Published 5:30 am Friday, July 10, 2026
Historically, I don’t identify as a plant person. For houseplants, I tend to overwater and just LOVE them too much. For outside plants, I tend to forget them and underwater, especially if we have really nice sunny days. I’m busy doing other stuff and simply don’t have the time or energy to do all the things I want to do in the summer.
My neighbor has a beautiful lilac tree that I have envied since I bought my house in 2018. So two years ago, I purchased my own little lilac bush, in hopes of having the beautiful purple lilac blooms to fill the air with that delightful scent.
Except that I forgot to plant it.
I mean, I didn’t forget to plant the bush, but I didn’t plant it. I never seemed to have the time, energy, and desire, simultaneously, to get it done. The lilac bush sat in a black plastic pot for the remainder of the summer, looking pretty shriveled and pathetic. I eventually dug a hole, stuck it in and thought, “What do you have to lose?” And promptly forgot about it for the winter to take hold of my yard.
The other night, I was mowing my yard and smelling the beautiful wisps of lilac from my neighbor’s tree. I started to think about the peony bushes I bought this year (that are still living in black plastic pots) and hoping to find them a good home in my yard. I walked past where I had stuck the last-ditch effort lilacs into the ground. And as I looked more closely, I was shocked to discover—the lilac bush is alive! It has grown! AND IT HAS BLOOMS!
This little bush that I had all but given up on is now thriving in my yard with its own set of purplish blooms, ready to add a fresh smell to my yard.
Martin Luther is attributed with saying, “If I knew the world was going to end tomorrow, I would still plant an apple tree today.”
I planted the lilac bush far later than it should have been planted, but somehow it still managed to flourish. It’s easy in our lives today with the combination of political division, mental health, exhaustion from the expectations of our lives, and more, to simply feel like it’s not worth it. There is too much to do, too little time, and not enough energy to do it. Sometimes, life feels like it’s stuck in black plastic pots in our yards.
But when I am feeling down and most defeated, I try to say to myself “What do you have to lose?” Even if there’s no reasonable chance that something might survive, grow, and bloom, then why bother planting it? Again, I say to myself and to you, dear reader, “What do you have to lose?”
Even when all hope feels lost (or at least shriveled up in a plastic pot), we can ask ourselves “What do we have to lose?” Let’s plant those apple trees or lilac bushes. Let’s plant seeds of hope. Let’s plant little seedlings of possibility and new life. Let’s plant garden packs of joy and love for the world, even when we don’t expect to see something in return.
What do we have to lose?
Pastor Meredith Harber is the pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Soldotna. Worship at 10 a.m. on Sundays
