A Season to Bloom, A Season to Grow

Spring flowers blooming is one of the most welcome sights after a long winter! There are so many phrases that we hear about blooming. “Late bloomer” was one from years ago if a child took a little more time to learn how to walk, talk, or read.  Today you may be more likely to see a post on social media of two plants talking back and forth.  Usually one looks forlorn about the other blooming first or differently and the first one replies by saying something like, “We’re different plants, Silly.”  Another popular mantra you might have heard is, “Bloom where you’re planted.” But what does it mean to bloom?

In our world one could argue that to bloom would mean to succeed. A child who was considered a late bloomer may have taken longer to learn how to walk but when they succeeded in walking, they bloomed.  They learned how to walk and they mastered it.  They bloomed. Even if your version of success doesn’t look like my version of success, when we are successful we tend to have a look that shows people we have bloomed.  We’ve reached some level of success. If you are in a situation that you didn’t anticipate and are given the advice to “bloom where you’re planted,” you are being told to make the best of where you are, embrace it, and succeed.  

Whether one is a late bloomer, blooms in a unique way, or perseveres through tough circumstances to bloom, most people expect to bloom by adulthood.  By the time you become an adult who should know who you are, what your strengths are, and be able to adapt to your circumstances to succeed! But what if we don’t feel like we’ve made it yet?  Or maybe we feel like we are past our peak blooming period?  Maybe you felt successful as a college graduate but in your first few years out of school you withered and weakened. Maybe you trained in a certain sport and physically felt like you were the best you could be, and then an injury or diagnosis snapped you the way a frost bites a blooming plant.  Maybe you became a mom! Oh those months of pregnancy certainly give moms a glow as their bodies grow and nourish a new little one. But then when the nights get long and you desperately strive to get to the root of why your baby is crying and how you can help, all of a sudden your glow might be replaced with dark circles from lack of sleep and greasy hair piled up in a bun.  Are you blooming?  Do you feel like it?  

We can forget that flowers that bloom also have seasons where they are not blooming.  There is a season to bloom and a season for growth.  Think back to the example of a child learning to walk.  Once a child has reached that milestone, do we expect them to be able to run races? No, of course not. They have that sweet little wobbly walk that slowly becomes a more confident stride.  But even then, to win races there is a balance to strike between sprinting and pacing yourself.  It takes time, practice, and experience to win races! This pattern of succeeding and then learning more to succeed in another way is a pattern that continues throughout our life!

If you are in a period right now where you feel like nothing is quite working out, perhaps you are in a season of growing.  A growing plant doesn’t look especially interesting. Day to day it’s hard to see that anything is changing or happening at all. Let’s not forget that some plants even have a dormant stage. These plants may look dead from the outside, but when the time is right, new growth can be seen!  Sometimes things happen that even stunt growth.  Just like a plant that is struck by a drought or left in the dark, it can be nearly impossible to grow when life circumstances leave us thirsting and searching for the light.  

Jesus sees you.  When it feels like you are withered and will never bloom again, hear these words from Jesus,“But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14),” And when the darkness of doubt or fear is clouding your life, remember how the Light of Jesus shatters the darkness. Like a plant which seeks the light, bending towards any sliver of light, Jesus reminds us, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12).”  If you’ve seen success in the past and feel like you can’t get back to that point, keep turning to Jesus, and you will bloom according to His purpose.

As we grow through the seasons of life we are likely to bloom, let loose of those petals for a time, and then bloom again. More important than the blossoms we display is the fruit we bear.  What is the fruit of our life?  Are we living in the purpose God has given to us where our blossoms will then develop into fruitfulness? Do people see Jesus working within us when they see us? God is the ultimate gardener.  He gives us living water of eternal life, and the light to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. He “who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).” We need only to trust in Jesus and seek Him as we grow throughout the seasons of our lives. 

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