Beautiful Blooming

Who knew a plant could teach a girl so much. God works and reveals himself in the most beautiful, detailed, yet simple ways. He knows that my brain has such limited capacity to understand his ways as they are so much higher than mine. So He gives me simple signs. Plain as day, and somehow I still question Him daily. A couple weeks ago I had the privilege of watching a night blooming cereus blossom. This plant has been passed down my family line from my great grandmother, Super Nano, all the way to me. My great aunt, Sonna, has propagated the plant and given it to all the women in our family. This connection to my familial roots through a rooted creation leaves me breathless when I truly consider that gravity of it. I sit in sheer awe and amazement at the intricacies of this plant. And even more in awe of the hands of its creator. The bud forms from a leaf as it slowly matures awaiting for its time to bloom. It needs water daily, sunlight, and warm weather to survive. No one knows which night its going to bloom, you just patiently wait to start seeing the pure white pedals become exposed. It is one of the most jaw-dropping things I have ever watched; and it does so effortlessly. All because it is just the right time. The bloom opens up like little leaflets revealing all the layers of maturity and growth along the way. Its roots must be well established and despite the delicateness of the one night flower bud, the plant is incredibly durable. A rain storm came through Nashville just before the blossom, and guess what? The plant stood strong on my balcony, maintaining its growth. When it first started to open I could tell it was beautiful with dark magenta strands surrounding the long, narrow flower bud. Then boom, 2 hours later the whitest, most pure flower unfolds in all its wonder. The sweetest aroma simultaneously transports you to an open grassy field full of honeysuckle trees that could be smelled from miles away. Okay I think you might have an idea of where I am going with this connection but let me map it out for you. A lot of these parallels are going to penetrate some of you deeper than others, but as a woman in the middle of a waiting, growing, and trusting season, the similarities are undeniable.

The flower bud forms from a leaf just as we humans grow into more intricate and complex beings as life goes on. Gradually maturing, awaiting our time to bloom. The bloom comes at just the right time, never too early and never too late, just simply when it’s ready. This timing is not determined by the flower bud, aka us, but rather by the plant it’s connected to, aka God. The plant gets water daily. Just a little bit (1/3 cup to be exact), but EVERY single day. The plant also needs sunlight and moderately warm temperatures to survive. I am not sure what bloom you are waiting on, but I invite you to join me in trusting that it will come at the right time if you are connected to the source of true light and sustenance, God, your Creator. Trust me I am speaking to myself here too!! As crazy busy and full of distractions life is, we must get water daily by filling up our minds and hearts with scripture and intimate relationship to our Heavenly Father. Next, Jesus is the stem connecting the flower bud to the roots. He is every bit as much a part of the plant as the big green leaves but provides a conduit for the flower bud to be connected to the plant.

As I said, no one knows when the bloom is going to open up so it is necessary to watch and wait patiently in preparation. Are you actually prepared for the gift or thing you are asking God to do in your life right now? This really hit me as the Lord has been showing me what a gift the season of singleness is. I was reminded of the necessity to grow in healing and learning undivided devotion to the King before I can confidently say “Yes, Lord, I am ready for you to bring my future partner into this picture you have painted.”

Side note: Remember no matter how great someone may seem, the “right” person at the wrong time doesn’t exist. If it is not the right timing, then it is also not the right person. God’s timing is never off! God has the most beautifully white pure bud waiting to be revealed so cling to that.

The blossom then effortlessly opens, reveling in all its glory with its layers of growth and maturity as visible and intricate as a starry night in the Grand Canyon. Friends, all the developing and pruning is a necessary precursor to a future beautiful bloom in your story.

Oh and recall that storm I mentioned that came through. As we all know, life tends to throw harsh winds and heavy rains in our face. And though these storms can feel impossible to withstand at times, our roots hold us in place. If you are connected to the tree of life there is absolutely nothing on this Earth that can sever that connection, not even death. Along that note, I heard an incredible piece of advice this week from Sadie on my favorite podcast that said, “Grow where you’re planted”. As much as we may want our circumstances to be different, God has planted us with a purpose. That being to love Him and love others with everything we have and all that we are.

For my last parallel, imagine if I would have said, ” You know what, I am freaking exhausted, I had a killer hard exam this morning, have been doing homework all day, the magenta outside of the flower is pretty enough and hey, maybe it will bloom tonight but I’m just gonna go to bed instead.” What a dang shame that would have been! So 1. Let’s be ready to jump in to what God is doing in our lives and in the lives of those around us. You never know what beautiful flowers you might get the privilege of watching bloom. 2. Let’s not settle for something “okay” or “good enough” when we know God has promised us the best of the best. What we might view as the right time is not always accurate as our vision is so limited. As counterintuitive as it often seems, we are called to trust that God promises us something much greater than anything we could have possibly dreamed or drawn up on our own.

I can’t help but connect this to the season God has me in currently. The season of long days studying and running around the hospital, thinking “Hmm…is all this really worth it?”. The season of feeling like I am trying to run a marathon with people throwing dodge balls at me. The season of retraining time management and learning to live alone. The season of knowing the passions and dreams God has placed inside me but too often feeling as though I don’t have the time to pursue them. Of so much difficulty.

But also the season of learning how to care for God’s creation and all the inexplicable intricacies of the perfectly designed human body. Of developing new friendships and deepening ones already formed. Of exploring new hidden corners of the city. Of warm sips of early morning coffee. Of Trader Joe’s flowers and vanilla pumpkin scented candles. Of randomly deciding to go get something sweet just because. Of dancing in the kitchen to Lauren Daigle as I make a delicious meal for one. Of so much joy.

The season of growing and maturing. Of pain and beauty. Of waiting. Of dwelling. Of trusting. Of losing sight and failing. And of surrendering to trust over and over and over again. That despite my brokenness, a beautiful, breathtaking bloom awaits.