I have a large prickly pear cactus in my yard.  Each spring I carefully pick some flat pieces off with a pair of tongs, rough up a place in the sandy soil, and lay the broken piece on the freshly exposed plot.  Within a very short time, I see tiny new shoots coming up from the leaf, and within a year I have a robust new cactus plant, bearing its own fruit.  In places where nothing else will grow, the cactus agreeably settles in, providing fruit for the birds and providing me with fewer barren places.  The ‘mother cactus’ seems happy to share her broken pieces, apparently willing to let me root them elsewhere and pleased at their productivity.  What an example this cactus provides!  What if I were as generous with my time and my talents, what if I provided the seed and the setting for people to come to know God, what if I broke off pieces from my own experience so others could learn of God’s goodness?  Lord, please help me share like that mother cactus, giving of myself so that others might be rooted and grow in your kingdom. Amen.