What is the point of an exquisitely beautiful flower that only blooms once a year for a few hours – and only in the dark, so no one even sees it unless they go outside in the middle of the night with a flashlight before it wilts away?

Well, that’s exactly what my friend Paula O’Neill did earlier this month – and fortunately, she posted some jaw-dropping photos of her night blossoms on social media, so those of us who were sleeping could appreciate the mysterious phenomenon of the Queen of the Night.

According to the North Carolina Extension Gardener Tool Box, the Queen of the Night or Orchid Cactus is a “tropical, epiphytic or lithophytic, spineless cactus grown for its large, fragrant flowers. …The flowers are white, fragrant, waterlily-like like and measure 12 inches long and 8 inches wide. They are night-blooming and wither by the next morning.” ??

Why would something so eye-catching and unique bloom for such a short time – and at night – when it can only be appreciated by intrepid (and informed) gardeners willing to give up their sleep to see them in the dark?

I couldn’t think of a practical answer to that question, so I asked my 9-year-old granddaughter Josephine what she thought. Expecting her to be as puzzled as me, I was surprised when she immediately responded, “because they’re like glow sticks. They need the dark. They don’t work in the light.”

Hmmm…

I have never witnessed a flower blossom in the dark, but I have had people show up in the dark times of my life like a Queen of the Night. With a timely gesture of kindness – or sometimes just their encouraging presence – they transformed my hopeless outlook and helped me see my situation in a whole new light.

Like the excitement Paula experienced when she saw her Queen of the Night in the wee hours of the morning, those loving acts in the middle of my loneliness, fear or regret rejuvenated my wilted soul and replaced my gloom with gratitude.

Flowers play an interesting role in the lives of humans. We go to great lengths to plant them, cultivate them, buy them, give them away, celebrate and mourn with them. We love to paint them, write about them, decorate with them, photograph them and even line our highways with them.

Is it simply because we are so attracted to their beauty? Or do they play a more powerful role in our lives?

I understand that flowers have important practical utility in the cycle of pollination and the continuation of plant, animal and human species. And that some are edible and have many medicinal benefits. But a lot of those processes would probably continue on their own even if humans didn’t contribute to the flower inventory every season.

A flower’s physical beauty is really an unnecessary extra, but for many of us, that is their most important attribute. Their loveliness makes us smile and helps us communicate our emotions when words are inadequate.

But that’s not the case with night-blooming flowers. You can’t give them away or put them in a vase because their beauty is gone by the time the sun comes up.

Maybe they are out there in the dark to remind us of the importance of showing up for the people in our lives when it’s inconvenient and you’d rather stay under the covers in your comfortable bed. Like glow sticks, maybe some types of kindness only work in the dark.

I want to be a night blossom for my family and my friends – and even strangers – who are trudging through dark, difficult times. I don’t want to sleep through opportunities to make a difference for them. I know it’s a lot easier to bloom in the sunlight, when you can be seen and appreciated. But I think this world needs more night blossoms. And glow sticks.

Thank you, Paula and Josephine!

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11