Blooming where you are Planted

bloom•ing (ˈblu mɪŋ)

adj. 1. flowering; blossoming.  2. glowing, as with vigor.  3. prospering.  4. Chiefly Brit. (used as an intensifier.)

Last week it still looked and felt like winter. Suddenly this week, it is obvious spring has arrived. Most everything has blossomed and bloomed. Dull browns have turned to bright greens. Shoots have pushed their way out of the ground. Tree’s leaves have budded out. Bugs have started to appear. Robins and rabbits hop around the yard. Some flowers have opened. And all our neighbors exist again!

  
While things seemed dead and dormant for a while, life finds its way and circles back to growing and blooming.

 

One tree however was still dormant looking despite life finding its way all over the place.

This tree is a later bloomer.  Mom always said I was a LATE BLOOMER. It always irritated me as a child, but especially as a teenager. I was smart, socially aware and I knew I was destined for good things.  I just didn’t always do or appreciate the same things or in the same ways that my peers did – screaming after the latest Hollywood hottie (I liked various real boys), giggling and gossiping, planning my princess wedding (didn’t envision it happening), being a fashion plate (we didn’t have the money for the latest fashion) or running all over town with friends to do all of the above (I wanted to go to college and loved to hole up with a book.)

[S]He who leans on, trusts in, and is confident in riches shall fall, but the righteous shall flourish like a green bough. Proverbs 11: 28 Amplified Bible

Sometimes life isn’t what we are told, or what we expect. Definitely, not what television depicts. Are we learning? Developing? Taking in what we need for the next stage? We are blooming. Is our shaping and growing happening in ways we do not see or others may not see? Do not be afraid. Or do not let other voices shape you into something you are not.

Just because my blossoms weren’t coming in someone else’s time frame does not mean I was not blooming. I had buds and was blooming where I was. Sometimes I was lonely, but it was deeply satisfying to see ideas come to fruition, plans get organized into reality, and projects develop in my time.  And I did recently get married to a most amazing man that I would never have met if I was all those other things.  Better “late” than never. But if never happened, I like who I have grown to be.

Growing in grace they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of spiritual vitality and grow lush in trust, love, and contentment. Psalm 92: 14

 

 

As long as you live, keep learning how to live.  Latin Proverb

Recently, I realized it is worse to be a Non-bloomer. A non-bloomer chooses not to grow or change. A non-bloomer chooses not to live. Most people get stuck from time to time, but when a person gets rooted in place and shows no signs of life, this is sad for all involved. People choose non-blooming through fear or confusion.  What life throws our way can make us want to hunker down, pull in the roots and the tender shoots that get wounded so easily.

But plant those roots. For me it is in my faith through prayer, the company of God’s people and trust in God that I can reach upward in rain or shine to blossom and bloom wherever I am at the time. Every moment is a lesson and fertilizer for growth. Put your face to the sun and grow to your best.

...there shall be no end to our central joy when once we ascend to the stratosphere

 of our richer abilities.  Helen Keller

 

We all must bloom where and when we are planted. Live with vigor and grace even in less than idea situations. Bloom where you are planted.

 

WORD OF NOTE: Next week will involve a submitted word and my reflections on a challenge you give me. Feel free to submit a word for next time or in the future.