One Day Last Year...

Journal Review brought me back to this entry and it still speaks to me even though this actual flower is long since gone and 'buried'.

I was backing out of my driveway, as I do every morning…I always wait in the driveway until the garage door fully shuts. Then I slowly back up and today, as I do every day, I looked up at the porch at the plants and suddenly I had almost an entire parable, from the first chapter of Kim, coming to life in my head.

It "dawned" on me (or as I like to believe, God sprinkled wisdom on me), that my plants aren't flowering as they should (see where this is going already?). I replayed the plants recent history in my mind. You see, I'm not a great gardener because, like most things in my life, I lack balance. I either over water or completely ignore my plants, therefore I typically either let my darling husband take care of them (which is not an option while he's in school) or they have to be pretty darn hardy to survive. Much like our personal journey...we can't totally rely on another to keep us in "tune with God".

Well, these particular plants...my geraniums....are VERY hardy. As a matter of fact, even though I did not water them more than one time this winter, in my bathroom window, they still flowered in the sun coming through the window and didn't die of lack of water...weird huh????

I recalled when my husband first relocated them back to the front porch. They seemed a bit shaken at the hostile move back outdoors to the still unsettled and inclement weather but still they flowered a bit. Yet on this day, I look to the porch and no flowers are left. The leaves look great (I have remembered to water at least once per week when I mow)....but no flowers, no beautiful bright pink blooms that were so prevalent for so long. I miss the blooms!

What God taught me is; in His light things will grow (the light is His love and my salvation through Christ). The water; which in my life is the Word of God, my pastor, and the teachings I hear and the accountability of my friends and fellow Christians, when lacking, prevents the flowering. Also, when I'm shaken' by storms in life, I'm less likely to flower because I'm in "protective" mode.

The flowering is important because, as we both know, while the greenery is nice and provides LIFE to the plant through chlorophyll; the flowers provide beauty and draw others near to hear and reflect the beauty of God. The flowers are the fragrance of God and the flowers seek His sunshine as they look heavenward. The flowers are evangelism and the ability to shower onto others what the light has showered on me! In addition, the blooms are the WORSHIP we offer up to God for His love and grace and mercy by keeping us alive!

This all relates directly back to the prophetic words spoken over me so long ago...that "I am blooming and while I am not fully bloomed...I will fully bloom under God!"

Pretty wild huh? God never ceases to amaze me how he can make these things clear in my mind...I have a feeling this will go in my book one day, as a matter of fact, I'm sure it will.