Blooming

The handiwork in God’s nature garden is in full swing.  Similar to a gift being unwrapped, this activity of spring has awakened a stirring within my own heart, a yearning for my life to blossom once more.  Therefore, I ask the question, what is necessary for this growth to take place?

Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. Psalm 92

Several factors are needed for living things to flourish.  Looking back, I recall when my second grade teacher wanted to illustrate to the class how plants grow and bloom.  We were each given a small milk carton filled with dirt, along with a tiny seed.  To my little seven year old mind, that seed looked so small and insignificant —  actually much like myself at that time.

We were instructed to plant our seed into the dirt that contained the essential nourishment for our little seed to develop.  My teacher explained that the seed would first sprout roots downward into the ground, and even though unseen, these roots were vital to the strength and health of the plant.  With that in mind, I buried my little seed deep into the soil.

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. Isaiah 61

The seed and the dirt are only part of the equation for plant growth.  Can you guess the next needed ingredient?  Yes!  Water.  Without water plants rarely grow. Driving through a thirsty desert I have observed how barren the land remains without the life sustaining water.  Seeds will lie dormant in the ground sometimes for years just waiting for the chance to live.  Water is indispensable for life!  Even the human body can only live a few days without water.

…Jesus stood and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! He who believes in Me, who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.’”  John 7

So we now have the dirt, the seed and the much needed water.  At last, we have come to the part of the process where I get to place my little container in the light on the classroom windowsill.  The roots grow down hidden in the darkness but the plant grows up towards the warmth of the light.

Light is sown like seed for the righteous and illuminates their path, and irrepressible joy is spread for the upright in heart who delight in His [God’s] favor and protection. Psalm 97

In reality, there is still one more step needed for success.  It is the one thing that is most often overlooked but still a critical factor — “TIME”.  Each day I ran to the school windowsill hoping for signs of life in my container only to be disappointed. For a seven year old having to wait through a two day weekend might as well have been an eternity. While ALL the other children in the class saw the results of their seeds come to life quickly, day after day my little milk carton looked the same as it did the first day I placed it on the windowsill.  Questioning the soil, the seed, the water, my little mind wondered what I had done wrong.  It seems, no matter what our age, doubting is often a side-effect of waiting.

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. Psalm 62

In our instant gratification society, people are losing the ability to wait, along with being able to recognize the true value of something that was worth waiting for.  I know all too well and understand how hard it is when life seems to keep you suspended in an endless holding pattern.  Patience can often feel so abstract as one has to remain in place in a constant state of readiness or expectation of something not yet realized.  In order to allow “time” to accomplish its perfect work, you frequently have to be willing to fight a battle against discouragement and even despair.  But I am here to tell you this is a battle worth enduring.  “Time” will reveal truths that could not have been learned without the waiting.  For me, lingering at the classroom windowsill became the ritualistic start and end of each school day.

The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. Psalm 34

And then it happened, “TIME” won!  One day I saw a slight bump in the soil.  No one else could see the change, but I could tell there was a difference and for me, that was enough to rekindle my hope.  Filled with a greater anticipation [another side-effect of waiting] each day gave way to the unveiling of what was once a tiny seed now transforming into a plant.  This metamorphosis revealed an invaluable truth; it takes more than just the mere planting of a seed, but how the seed was planted is equally important.  For the other students, the seeds that were planted the shallowest were the first to spring up but in return also had the weakest and equally shallow root systems.  If you remember, I mentioned that I planted my seed deep within the soil, so while the other seeds were sprouting upwards quickly, my seed had a longer journey to the surface allowing the “time” to develop a strong root system.  In the end, my plant grew to be the biggest and the strongest in the class.

Retelling this story to you I realize that it has become a metaphor for my life.  Yes, there was a tiny seemingly insignificant little seed, placed into the darkness of my heart by the gentle hands of God.  I can even imagine my little seed uttering the same words that I have cried out; “Why did you bury me so deep?”  To be honest, roots are not very attractive.  Many would say that they look like a tangled mess, although, as a result of “time”, I have learned to lean on the root of Jesus in my life for support and strength.  It took even more “time” for me to emerge through the surface of the soil in my life, but today I am continually reaching up higher and higher into the warmth of God’s light.  My desire is that my flowering will not only produce a beautiful fragrance but that my life will also produce a sweet fruit that will be nourishing to others.  I have been transplanted into God’s garden where I will be watered, fertilized and in the proper "time" — pruned.  It all started with the planting of a tiny seed from God.

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1

Are you feeling stagnant?  Do you to have a yearning for your life to bloom at last? Growth starts with the planting of a seed.  It is at this point though, I need to caution you.  Not all seeds are the same.  In the world today there seems to be an over abundance of seeds — weed seeds, all attempting to be planted into your life. These seeds may even appear to be more attractive at first, but they are imposters. Once planted they can become overpowering and all consuming like a cancerous growth, choking out the life of anything beautiful.  Nevertheless, there is still good news.  You have a choice in the “who and what” you allow to be planted in your heart.  I encourage you to do as I did and cry out to Jesus.  You will find that all this “time” He has been patiently waiting to transplant you also into His wondrous garden.

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord[Jesus] in prayer will be saved.” Romans 10